Sarrasine

This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice.

Honoré de Balzac’s Sarrasine is a haunting and provocative novella that masterfully blends romance, mystery, and gothic revelation. Part of Balzac’s monumental La Comédie Humaine, this tale unfolds within the opulent salons of 19th-century aristocratic Paris, where an unnamed narrator recounts a disturbing and enigmatic love story from the past.


At its heart is Sarrasine, a passionate sculptor whose obsession with an enigmatic opera singer leads to a devastating discovery that challenges his ideals of beauty, gender, and identity. Balzac weaves a compelling narrative of illusion and obsession, touching on themes of desire, art, and the fluidity of truth.


Written with psychological depth and dramatic elegance, Sarrasine is both a romantic tragedy and a subtle critique of social and aesthetic conventions. With its rich atmosphere and chilling twist, the novella remains one of Balzac’s most intellectually daring and emotionally charged works — a timeless meditation on the deceptive nature of appearances.