Wine of Life by Charles Gorham

Balzac: genius in literature, lovable loser in life

I know almost nothing about the author Charles Gorham, but this is the second book I’ve read by him. He was an American writer, born 1911, died in Connecticut in 1975, and the Library of Congress has him down for ten books. I had previously read The Gold of Their Bodies, Gorham’s biographical novel about the painter Paul Gauguin. Having enjoyed that book quite a bit, I sought out more of Gorham’s novels. Wine of Life, published in 1958, is Gorham’s fictionalized life story of the French writer Honoré de Balzac. Once again Gorham proves himself a skilled writer of the biographical novel with another book about an eccentric and uncompromising artistic genius who lived by his own rules.

Gorham presents a complete cradle-to-grave retelling of Balzac’s life, beginning with the Frenchman’s birth in Tours in 1799. Balzac experienced a sad childhood. Unloved by a mother who wanted nothing to do with him, he was sent off at a young age to a boarding school that resembled a prison and the teachers sadistic guards. Despite his mother’s shunning of him, or maybe because of it, Balzac strove for the rest of his life to earn her love and respect, at least in Gorham’s telling. Balzac did not decide to become a writer until after having studied to be a lawyer and pursuing several futile business ventures. The first half of Wine of Life is all about his struggle to become a published writer, and frankly that portion of the book is drawn out a bit too long. Anyone who’s ever read a biography of Balzac already knows about his ineptitude as a businessman, and it does tax one’s patience a bit to read three chapters about his failed printing business or pineapple farm. Though the pacing is a bit slow, however, Gorham’s talent for period realism and vivid characterization prevail, and once Balzac’s writing career gets off the ground, the second half of the book is a vast improvement.

Balzac was notoriously devoid of anything resembling fiscal responsibility. Though he was a success during his lifetime, he always spent more than he made, and he pushed himself like a flogged mule in a vain attempt to write enough words to pay off his debts. In depicting this aspect of Balzac’s personality, Gorham paints Balzac as a lovable loser whose extravagance is so ridiculous one has to laugh good-naturedly at his clueless optimism. Balzac’s relationships with women are also crucial to an understanding of his nature, and Gorham thoroughly chronicles his subject’s love life. A string of mistresses helped to mold Balzac’s character, further his career, and in some cases enable his excesses, but his one true love was the Polish countess Evalina de Hanska (that’s Gorham’s spelling). Rather than an overly romanticized account of the lovers’ protracted long-distance courtship, Gorham presents a portrait of the countess that is not very flattering. While Wine of Life contains a fair amount of sex and romance, Gorham treats such amorous matters realistically, never succumbing to sappy sentimentalism or bodice-ripping titillation.

I’m not sure how Gorham conducted his research into Balzac’s life, but it seems obvious that Mary Frances Sandars’s 1902 biography Honoré de Balzac: His Life and Writings was one of his sources. As a historical novelist, Gorham is like an unsung Gore Vidal. He strikes a fine balance between factual accuracy and literary license. He admirably recreates this time period in French history and teaches the reader a great deal about Balzac’s life while telling a satisfying, entertaining, and moving fictional narrative in the process. Literary scholars could probably quibble over some of the details and characterizations in Wine of Life (because that’s what literary scholars do), but most Balzac fans will enjoy it.  

If you liked this review, please follow the link below to Amazon.com and give me a “helpful” vote. Thank you.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R3HU31WLCJQY6Q/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rdp_perm