Can I read The wild ass's skin =: (La peau de chagrin) on EtoBox?

The wild ass's skin =: (La peau de chagrin) by Honoré de Balzac is a work of fiction available to read on EtoBox.

What is The wild ass's skin =: (La peau de chagrin) about?

The Wild Ass's Skin is Honor de Balzac's 1831 novel that tells the story of a young man, Raphal de Valentin, who discovers a piece of shagreen, in this case a rough untanned piece of a wild ass's skin, which has the magical property of granting wishes. However the fulfillment of the wisher's desire comes at a cost, after each wish the skin shrinks a little bit and consumes the physical energy of the wisher. "The Wild Ass's Skin" is at once both a work of incredible realism, in the descriptions of Parisian life and culture at the time, and also a work of supernatural fantasy, in the desires that are fulfilled by the wild ass's skin. Balzac uses this fantastical device masterfully to depict the complexity of the human nature in civilized society.

Who reads The wild ass's skin =: (La peau de chagrin)?

Author

Honoré de Balzac

Publisher

Penguin Classics

Published

1977

Language

EN

ISBN

9780140443301

Category

work of fiction

Subjects

Literary Fiction, Romance, Children'S

Rating

3.85 / 5 (2,267 ratings)

Updated

2026-03-14