How long does it take to read La Peau de Chagrin?
La Peau de Chagrin by Honoré de Balzac takes about 6 hours 58 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.
Part of The Human Comedy
Previous: La Grande Bretèche Next: Le Chef-d'œuvre inconnu
About 6 hours 58 minutes
A weekend read
First published 1800. 380 pages, about 104,500 words.
14 days at 30 minutes a day
Estimate based on 275 words per page.
At other speeds
| Slow, 150 words a minute | 11 hours 37 minutes |
| Average, 250 words a minute | 6 hours 58 minutes |
| Fast, 400 words a minute | 4 hours 21 minutes |
The page count is the median across 43 editions, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.
About the book
Balzac's classic philosophical novel about a young man (Raphaël) torn between two women, one whom he loves but who does not reciprocate his affections (Foedora, the "woman without a heart") and one who loves him but for whom initially he has only fraternal feelings (Pauline). The sentimental drama is associated with a philosophical one in allegorical form: how does a man live his life... with intensity but in an existence of short duration, or without desires in a long life? The drama is expressed through the talisman, a wild ass's skin, given to the hero by an old antique dealer. The skin has magical powers: it enables the owner to satisfy any desire, but it shrinks each time it is used. The owner's life is mirrored by the shrinking skin.
Subjects: Man-woman relationships, Fiction, Women, Social conditions, French fiction
