Germinal by Émile Zola

This book!  Where do I even start??

With a label... Émile Zola's style is classified as naturalism, a form of literary realism. And let me tell you, Germinal is nothing if not realistic! Brutal, in-your-face realism. There is dire poverty and suffering juxtaposed with the bourgeois life of ease and plenty, but Zola portrays the characters with such respect and humanity, the reader somehow sympathizes with everyone.

Germinal is about mining, politics, and labor relations. Sounds incredibly boring, right?  Yet boring is the last word I would use to describe this book. The women (and animals) especially broke my heart... such horrible lives. And the incident - OMG!! Can there be anything else in all of literature like that riot scene?

Zola's descriptions of physical surroundings are incredibly vivid. I could practically feel the moisture from the dripping water and melting snow. My feet seemed mired in the thick mud. The scenes in the mines made me nervous and anxious... my heart was pounding. Germinal is the most realistic piece of literature I've ever read. No wonder it is considered Zola's masterpiece!

This is not my first experience with Zola. I read Therese Raquin several years ago and thought it was excellent. [It's a perfect starting point if you're inclined to give Zola a try.] Not long after, and before the television series, I enjoyed The Ladies' Paradise. I've also read several of his short stories.

Germinal is the thirteenth novel is Zola's famous Rougon-Macquart series. I have considered reading them all, but can the others be this good? I've added the first book, The Fortune of the Rougons, to my current Classics Club Spin list. We'll see what happens on Monday...

A few more details...

As usual, I approached this classic as a read/listen combination. I purchased the Penguin Classics edition (pictured above) translated by Roger Pearson. Initially, I downloaded the audio version narrated by Frederick Davidson, but didn't like the translation. Audible has the best customer service and let me exchange it for the Leighton Pugh narration (pictured below)... much better, although the translation was still differed slightly from the print. I wish they would include translation information on their website.

Finally, a big thank you to Melissa and Care for organizing and hosting #GerminalAlong. Classics are always better with friends - great conversation and photos (!) on twitter, Litsy, and instagram. And, of course, the postcards :)

Overall, a grueling, but truly memorable reading experience.

My rating:

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#GerminalAlong: The Adventure Begins

Out on the open plain, on a starless, ink-dark night, a lone man was following the highway from Marchiennes to Montsou, ten kilometers of paved roads that cut directly across the fields of beet. He could not make out even the black ground in front of him, and he was aware of the vast, flat horizon only from the March wind blowing in broad, sweeping gusts as though across a sea, bitterly cold after its passage over league upon league of marsh and bare earth. Not a single tree blotted the skyline, and the road rolled on through the binding spume of darkness, unswerving like a pier.

Germinal
by Émile Zola

And so another readalong begins...

During the month of September, Melissa and Care are co-hosting a group read of Germinal by Emile Zola... and calling it #GerminalAlong. There is no formal schedule, and we are using the hashtag to chat on twitter, instagram, and litsy, as well as our own blogs.

Zola is considered a naturalist (is that the correct term?) and this novel is about a family of miners. Although I have read a couple of his novels, I was still unprepared for the horrifying descriptions of work in the mine. This one, referring to the pit after the workers' descent, was especially striking:

And LeVoreoux, crouching like some evil beast at the bottom of its lair, seemed to hunker down even further, puffing and panting in increasingly slow, deep bursts, as if it were struggling to digest its meal of human flesh. 

The tone is unmistakable as Etienne, the newcomer, reflects on his first day in the mine:

Was it possible that people could work themselves to death at such terrible labour, down here in this mortal darkness, and still not earn even enough for their daily bread?

As Care mentioned, I'm beginning to think Germinal qualifies for RIP XI!

My preferred approach to longer classics is a read/listen combination. With Germinal, I have the Penguin Classics ebook, Pearson translation, and the audiobook narrated by Leighton Pugh. The translations are slightly different and there is no whispersync, but the combination still seems to be working.

It's not too late to join our readalong... find more information here.
Have you read Zola? Germinal is touted as his masterpiece.

Every Tuesday, Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea posts the opening paragraph (sometime two) of a book she decided to read based on the opening. Feel free to grab the banner and play along.

Author Birthday: Emile Zola

From today's Writer's Almanac:

Today is the birthday of Émile Zola (books by this author), born in Paris (1840). He was inspired by reading Charles Darwin to try to apply scientific principles of observation to the practice of writing fiction. The result was a 20-novel cycle, a kind of fictional documentary about the influence of heredity and environment on an extended family. It was called Les Rougon-Macquart. Some of the novels of the cycle include The Drunkard (1877), Nana (1880), and Germinal (1885). 

Zola said, "One forges one's style on the terrible anvil of daily deadlines....The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without work."

Emile Zola was my first classic author discovery at Lakeside Musing. In the spring of 2009, I read Therese Raquin and my thoughts were eventually published in Yareah Magazine. I participated in The Classics Circuit's Zola tour in 2010 with a review of The Ladies' Paradise. In 2011, I turned to Zola's short stories from Dead Men Tell No Tales. I plan to read another of his novels later this year.

Emile Zola at Lakeside Musing:

• Therese Raquin 
• The Ladies Paradise
• "Rentafoil"
• "Story of a Madman"

Tuesday Intro: The Belly of Paris

In the silence of a deserted avenue, wagons stuffed with produce made their way toward Paris, their thudding wheels rhythmically echoing off the houses sleeping behind rows of elm trees meandering on either side of the road. At the pont de Neuilly, a cart full of cabbages and another full of peas met up with eight carts of turnips and carrots coming in from Nanterre. The horses, their heads bent low, led themselves with their lazy, steady pace, a bit slowed by the slight uphill climb. Up on the carts, lying in their stomachs in the vegetables, wrapped in their black-and-gray-striped wool coats, the drivers slept with the reigns in their fists. Occasionally the light from a gas lamp would grope its way through the shadows and brighten the hobnail of a boot, the blue sleeve of a blouse, or the tip of a hat poking from the bright bloom of vegetables--red bouquets of carrots, white bouquets of turnips, or the bursting greenery of peas and cabbages.

The Belly of Paris
by Emile Zola
translated by Mark Kurlansky

This first paragraph doesn't have me bursting with excitement, but Zola certainly paints a vivid picture! I've enjoyed a couple of his novels and many short stories, but am still trying to decide on my next read. I hate this in-between book stage...

Tuesday Intros is hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea.

"Story of a Madman" by Emile Zola

This week, I returned to Dead Men Tell No Tales and Other Stories by Emile Zola.  "Story of a Madman" (1868) is reputed to have many plot similarities to his novel Therese Raquin, published just a year earlier. The first paragraph captured my attention, touted similarities appeared in the second, and by the third paragraph, I had no doubt where the story was headed.

Forty year old Isidore-Jean-Louis Maurin marries the 18-year-old blonde daughter of one of his tenants, but Henriette soon begins to cheat on him with a young doctor from the flat upstairs.

"Their close proximity, the fact that they were separated from each other by nothing more than the thickness of a ceiling, sharpened their desire still more. At night, the lover could hear the husband coughing in bed."

After a few weeks, Henriette ran out of excuses for visiting the second floor and a plan to get rid of Maurin was hatched.

"They were reluctant to resort to violence or crime. How could you possibly slit the throat of such a tame sheep? Besides, they were afraid of being found out and sent to the guillotine. In any case, the doctor, who was an ingenious young man, hit on a less risky by equally effective method, the bizarre nature of which fired the young woman's romantic imagination."

Henriette staged several incidents which suggested her husband's madness. Compounded by gossip of neighbors, all of Maurin's actions are eventually construed as those of a madman, and he is taken away.

Forcible confinement of the allegedly insane was a timely issue in the late 1800's, and still evokes strong feelings today. Zola utilized the themes of madness and guilt very successfully in Therese Raquin and would return to them again in parts of the later Rougon-Macquart novel La Conquete de Plassans of 1874.

Unfortunately, I was not able to find "Story of a Madman" online, but if the plot interests you, I would strongly recommend reading Therese Raquin. My thoughts on that novel can be found here.

Short Story Monday is hosted by John Mutford at The Book Mine Set. Karen and Tamara are the hosts of Paris in July.

"Rentafoil" by Emile Zola

Everything is for sale in Emile Zola's Paris, and beauty, as a commodity, is no exception. After moaning for years that no one can make money out of ugly girls, the old businessman Durandeau finally hit upon a way to market ugliness.  His company, Rentafoil, allows a moderately pretty girl to rent an ugly one as a 'suitable embellishment', or foil, in order to enhance her own beauty as the pair stroll the streets, gaze in shop windows, talk, and laugh together.

Durandeau, like Zola, knows human nature and realizes

"...only pretty women have the courage to make a false confession of ugliness.  The ugly ones would never admit of their own free will that  their mouths were too big and their eyes ludicrously small.  You could put up notices all over Paris offering ten francs to every ugly woman who cared to apply without the slightest risk of becoming impoverished."

His advertisements are of no use, so Durandeau searches the city himself, and with great finesse, is able to find enough women willing to act as foils.  The business became a huge success boasting many regular beauty/foil pairs.

But what of the life of the foil?

"They spend all day in a whirl of gaiety. At night, they fret and fume and sob. They've had to take off their fine dress which belongs to the agency, they're alone in their attic, sitting in front of a bit of broken mirror which tells them the truth. Their ugliness is staring them mercilessly in the face and they're quite aware that nobody will ever love them. They may help to excite desire but never will they know the joy of being kissed themselves."

And in the end,

"Mankind marches on. Durandeau will be blessed by future generations because he created a market for a hitherto unsaleable commodity and invented a fashion article which makes love easier. "

One again, Zola provides another startling look at human nature, warts and all. "Rentafoil"maybe not a pleasant read, but it is remarkably perceptive.

This story appears in Dead Men Tell No Tales and Other Stories by Emile Zola (1840-1902).  It may also be read online.
Short Story Monday is hosted by John Mutford at The Book Mine Set.

Oh, la la ... Zola

Paris in July wouldn't be complete without spending time with Emile Zola. My fascination began about eighteen months ago when a former blogger's review inspired me to pick up Therese Raquin (my review). The novels offers an amazing portrayal of the effects of guilt and is truly one of the best psychological dramas I've read.

The Classics Circuit's April tour provided the motivation to return to Zola. This time, I chose The Ladies' Paradise (my review) from the Les Rougon Macquart twenty novel series. The 1883 novel focuses on the rise of the modern department store in Paris and has a surprisingly contemporary feel. From the owner/capitalists, to the workers, to the nearby small businessmen with eroding livelihoods, Zola puts a face to all sides of the issue... and I put Zola on my list of favorite authors.

On my most recent visit to New York City, there was an opportunity to browse the cozy Shakespeare & Co.'s Broadway location. Lately, I have fallen into the habit of perusing the "Z" shelves. Without fail, the only titles available in my city are Therese Raquin, Nana, and Germinal, so I'm always curious to see what else might be out there.

Several out of the ordinary titles were in stock, but it was The Belly of Paris that caught my eye. I love food, cooking, and culinary concerns in general (Lakeside Kitchen is my other blog), plus I was reminded of Karen's wonderful review.  There were even two translations available! This was too good to pass up.  After sampling a portion of each, I settled on the Modern Library Classics edition translated by Mark Kurlansky. My plan is to read this in the fall.

Finally, there was the collection of short stories Dead Men Tell No Tales. Regular reader of this blog know I rediscovered short stories last year and try to participate in Short Story Monday regularly. How could I pass up an opportunity to sample some of Zola's short fiction?

"The Girl Who Loves Me", written in 1864 when Zola was just 24 years old, appeared in his first collection of stories. The eleven pages center around a carnival attraction called The Mirror of Love. For a mere two sous, men are encouraged to step forward and gaze upon "the girl who loves you".

The story opens with the narrator's speculation on the girl's identity:

"Is the girl who loves me a fine lady dressed in silk and lace and jewels, reclining on a sofa in her boudoir, dreaming of our love? Is She a marchioness or a duchess, as light-footed and dainty as a dream, languorously trailing her long flowing white gown over sumptuous rugs with a charming pout, softer than a smile, on her lips?"

It moves on with a beautiful, detailed description of the fair itself. I was reminded of passages from The Ladies Paradise describing gorgeous silks or those in Therese Raquin when Camille's decomposing body lies in the morgue. Zola certainly paints a vivid picture with his words!

Eventually, the story settles into themes his novels will explore in greater detail. Human wants and desire are examined. Zola shows what happens when they collide with life's harsh realities. This is definitely the work of the young writer whose work would come to be so strongly associated with Naturalism. I'll continue reading this collection throughout the summer.

Have you read Zola? Do you plan to? Paris in July (hosted by Karen and Tamara) would be an idea time to start.

The Ladies' Paradise by Emile Zola

The Ladies' Paradise

by Emile Zola

Oxford World Classics, 2008

(originally published 1883)

translated by Brian Nelson

432 pages

Novel, social commentary, business manual... however you classify The Ladies' Paradise by Emile Zola, this 125 year old classic possesses a surprisingly contemporary feel as it chronicles the rise of the modern department store in Paris.

The novels opens with Denise, a recently orphaned shopgirl from the country, arriving in Paris with two younger brothers in tow hoping for assistance from her Uncle Baudu. Baudu, owner of a small family-run business, operates his shop literally in the shadow of The Ladies' Paradise and balances precariously on the brink of failure. He is full of anger and resentment toward the store and it's owner Octave Mouret, "master of the terrible machine".

In the old days, when trade was trade, drapery meant materials and nothing else. Nowadays their only aim is to expand their business at the expense of their neighbours and to eat everything up. (page 24)

Denise, however, is "bewildered and attracted" by the giant shop, while feeling an "instinctive repugnance for [her uncle's] icy little place where the old-fashioned methods of business still prevailed." Since her uncle cannot offer her a position, she secures employment at The Ladies' Paradise.

Mouret employs surprisingly modern and sophisticated marketing techniques to build his "machine" (huge sales, dazzling displays, publicity and marketing gimmicks, a return policy) in an attempt to attract the women of Paris.

Of supreme importance... was the exploitation of Woman... It was Woman the shops were competing for so fiercely... They had awoken new desires in her weak flesh; they were an immense temptation to which she inevitably yielded... And if, in the shops, Woman was queen, ... she reigned there as an amorous queen whose subjects trade on her, and who pays for every whim with a drop of her own blood.... and, behind her back, when he [Mouret] had emptied her purse and wrecked her nerves, he was full of the secret scorn of a man to whom a mistress has just been stupid enough to yield. (page 76-77)

Zola is a master of description. There are many gorgeous, almost sensual, passages detailing the wares at The Ladies' Paradise.

In the middle of the department an exhibition of summer silks was illuminating the hall with the brilliancy of dawn, like the rising of a start amidst the most delicate shades of daylight - pale pink, soft yellow, clear blue, a shimmering scarf of all the colours of the rainbow. There were foulards as fine as a cloud, surahs lighter than the down blown from trees, satiny Peking fabrics as soft as the skin of a Chinese virgin... (page 252)

As the department store grows, small businesses suffer and die. Zola skillfully portrays their struggle through the Baudus. Simultaneously, thousands gain employment at The Ladies' Paradise. The store provides housing, meals, and social activities for its employees, thus promoting the formation of a "vague" new social class.

From their daily contact with rich customers, nearly all the salesgirls had acquired airs and graces, and had ended up by forming a vague class floating between the working and middle classes; and often, beneath their dress sense, beneath the manners and phrases they had learned, there was nothing but a false superficial education, picked up from reading cheap newspapers, from tirades in the theatre, and from all the latest follies from the Paris streets. (page 155)

Underneath the social commentary and marketing strategies, intriguing story lines can also be found - competition and gossip among the salespeople, the decline of the Baudus and other small shopkeepers, love affairs, Denise's struggle to provide for her brothers and advance her career, and, most importantly, Mouret's growing fascination with Denise.

The Ladies' Paradise is a fabulous book and will likely be among my favorites this year. Therese Raquin was a favorite last year, and Emile Zola has earned a spot on my "favorite authors" list.

This review is part of The Classics Circuit: Paris in the Spring Emile Zola Tour. The entire schedule can be found here. Visit the Classics Circuit website for information on upcoming tours and links to previous stops.

Teaser Tuesdays: The Ladies' Paradise

"At this time of night, the Ladies' Paradise, with its furnace-like glare, seduced her completely. In the great metropolis, dark and silent under the rain, in this Paris of which she knew nothing, it was burning like a beacon, it alone seemed to be the light and life of the city. She dreamed of her future there, working hard to bring up the children, and of other things too, she knew not what, far-off things which made her tremble with desire and fear." (page 28)

The Ladies Paradise

by Emile Zola

The Ladies' Paradise chronicles the development of the modern department store in late 19th century Paris. If the first chapters are any indication, I'm going to love this! Emile Zola will be touring with The Classics Circuit next month.

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

Therese Raquin by Emile Zola

Therese Raquin

by Emile Zola

Penguin Classics, 2004

194 pages

translated from French by Robin Buss

(originally published in 1867)

From the back cover:

"In a dingy apartment on the Passage du Pont-Neuf in Paris, Therese Raquin is trapped in a loveless marriage to her sickly cousin, Camille. The numbing tedium of her life is suddenly shattered when she embarks on a turbulent affair with her husband's earthy friend Laurent, but their animal passion for each other soon compels the lovers to commit a crime that will haunt them forever....Zola's novel is not only an uninhibited portrayal of adultery, madness and ghostly revenge, but also a devastating exploration of the darkest aspects of human existence."

My Thoughts:

I loved this book! Emile Zola is an author I have been meaning to read for years, and I'm glad that my reading challenges provided the motivation to finally pick up one of his books.

Two things that stood out for me in Therese Raquin were Zola's descriptive passages and the psychological development of the characters. From the very beginning, Therese Raquin is teeming with atmosphere. The Parisian street that houses Mme Raquin's shop is brought to life. The reader actually feels the weight of its oppression upon Therese:

"Therese, living in this dank darkness, in this dreary depressing silence, would see life stretching in front of her quite empty, bringing her each evening to the same cold bed and each morning to the same featureless day." (pg.22)

Zola's description of the morgue and the bodies housed within is positively gruesome:

"Often the flesh was peeling off their faces in shreds, the bones had broken through the drenched skin and the face seemed to have been boiled and boned." (pg. 71-72)

The psychological development of the characters is stunning. We see them begin to change as the affair progresses. For Laurent, "a new corner of his unconscious being has come to light. In the passion of adultery, he had begun to dream about killing." (pg.50)

After the crime is committed, the novel becomes even more focused on the psychological state of the characters. Therese"became aware of goodness and gentleness..., and she knew that she could not kill her husband and be happy. As a result, she could no longer clearly see inside herself and she lived in a state of cruel uncertainty." (pg.83)

We are taken on a on a journey with Therese and Laurent through rationalization, denial, guilt and, possibly, remorse and acceptance. The couple becomes nearly mad from sleep-deprivation, as they are haunted by the dead man's ghost. Zola even treats us to the thoughts of Camille's mother, Mme Raquin, who has been rendered mute by a stroke! The psychological drama ends with a very startling conclusion.

Therese Raquin is a book I can heartily recommend to just about anyone. It would also be a good choice for a book club looking for an accessible, exciting, and short classic. I will definitely be reading more Zola and would welcome any recommendations.

My rating: 4.5/5