Honoré de Balzac 
The Country Doctor 

The Country Doctor is one of the isolated books of The Human Comedy. It is set far from Paris and without other characters of the Comedie humaine passing through the story here and there.

This is without a doubt the strangest and most serene of all of the author’s work. We begin with a rather static story of a military commander named Genestas searching out a Dr Benassis who is much loved in the mountains and valleys of Savoy and in the town where he serves as the mayor. We follow the doctor on his rounds and meet some of the people of the area. 

Just when some doubt arouses in the reader’s mind where all this is going, the novel ends in confessions by Genestas, Benassis, and a young woman named La Fosseuse with whom Benassis is half in love. 

In the end, this is a story about redemption, about second chances in life. Its message is that, however much we may have screwed up our lives, one can still do good and lead good, useful lives.