Thursday Tea (March 11): Pere Goriot

Thursday Tea is a weekly meme hosted by yours truly. To play along, all you need is some tea, a book, and the answers to these questions: what tea are you drinking (and do you like it)? What book are you reading (and do you like it)? Tell us a little about your tea and your book, and whether or not the two go together.

The book: I’ve been slacking slightly on the books I have to read for class, so with that in mind I’ve been trying to catch up this week. Right now I’m reading Pere Goriot by Balzac for my Paris class, and it’s actually pretty good! I almost never expect to like a book written before 1920, but I’m 13 pages into this one and enjoying it.

I think partly the translation helps because it sounds more modern than I think it would have otherwise. Also my copy has a map and explanatory notes, which helps me figure out where the book takes place precisely in Paris. Oh, if you’re not already familiar with the book– here’s a short summary:

This fine example of the French realist novel contrasts the social progress of an impoverished but ambitious aristocrat with the tale of a father, whose obsessive love for his daughters leads to his personal and financial ruin.

Told you it was short!

The tea: My faithful English breakfast tea is serving me well this morning, though I still wish I had brought something more interesting with me to work. Blood orange would have been MUCH better. I’ll remember for next week!

Do they go together? You know how English breakfast and Darjeeling are, like, the quintessential British teas? Does France have something similar? (This is a rather obvious ploy to distract you from the fact that the dreariness of my tea matches perfectly the dreariness of the boarding house I’m reading about. Dreariness isn’t as interesting as spice, I think.)

What are you drinking/reading this Thursday?