I can only say the obvious: un chef d'oeuvre bien connu par un maître indisputable. Not only is the story beautifully constructed all the way to its heart-clenching end, it also sets sophisticated aesthetic ideas in motion and ties them in with a Romantic psychology that has a very German feel to it. Fans of the 17th century painter Nicolas Poussin will enjoy the "origin story" aspect.
It's quite short and concentrated too, so that even though you'll want to read it slowly for the savor, it won't take that long to do so.
The Kindle edition is especially handy if you have the French dictionary on the machine too. Balzac's sometimes recherché vocabulary will slow you down hardly at all.
If you want to engage further with the work, check out Raphaël Enthoven's "Le Gai Savoir" on Radio France Culture. He and Paola Raiman had a stimulating discussion about "Le chef d'oeuvre inconnu" about a year ago (i.e., 11 May 2014).
And not to be crass amidst such sublimity, but who can beat the price for a treasure like this?!
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