Traumreisen

For all those who cannot travel: Balzac's Dream Journeys are a guide to the most beautiful journeys, those that take place in the mind. Balzac never traveled to China or Java. In the two travel narratives presented here, he describes "imaginary voyages" – journeys of the imagination. The background for these stories comes from reports shared with the author by acquaintances who had actually traveled to the Far East. Balzac's brilliant "thought excursions," built upon this foundation, are witty and amusing conversations that reveal much about the original inspirations of their author. Time and again, the great novelist charmingly digresses from the topic. In numerous flashes of insight and playful asides, he presents himself as an entertaining and imaginative conversational partner, who knows how to dream and visualize his journeys wonderfully, allowing his readers to partake in them with a wink. "China and the Chinese" appears in this volume for the first time in German translation, while "Journey from Paris" to Java is presented in a completely new German rendition.