The Wild Ass's Skin

Ruined and resolved to die, young Raphaël de Valentin walks into an antique shop, where the dealer gives him a wild ass's skin covered with signs. The talisman grants every wish of its owner, but it shrinks with each wish, and its master's life shrinks with it. Rich overnight, Raphaël begins to count his desires as one counts one's days. The novel explores desire, the spending of one's own life and the gap between wanting and being able, in the Paris of the July Monarchy. It is the first title of Balzac's Philosophical Studies, a philosophical tale rich in social observation.