Emile Zola suggestions

[StColumbofNavron]

I’ve read a couple of Zola’s books (L’Assomoir and Therese Raquin).

He is on my list for this year so wondering which one to go for next. I loved L’Assomoir, totally loved it. Therese Raquin I enjoyed but less so and felt it dragged a bit in places.

So, which one next?

Au Bonheur des Dames (aka The Ladies' Paradise, The Ladies' Delight, The Paradise) is the only Émile Zola book I've read but I really liked it.

Germinal

If you liked ‘L’assomoir’, you must read ‘Nana’. Nana is Gervaise and Coupeau’s daughter Anna in ‘L’assomoir’. A must read.

And ‘Au bonheur des dames’ is great too.

I did think Nana given L’Assomoir.

There are 20 novels in the Rougon-Macquart series, which includes all Zola's best known work apart from Therese Raquin. I much prefer the R-M books to Therese Raquin, which was one of my A level texts many yaers ago. However, most people don't read them in order and some books are much more widely avaialble in print and translation than others. Wikipedia does contain details of all the books in the series and how they fit together, and OUP has published a lot of them, including new translations, within the last 10 years or so. They were written between 1870 and Zola's death, and set between 1850 and 1870 - the last one is to do with the Franco-Prussian War and the Paris Commune.

Germinal and L'Assommoir are my favourites, and Nana is a good choice to follow on from L'Assommoir. For another story set in Paris and focused on a woman, The Ladies' Pleasure about a woman working in one of the city's new department stores, is another good one to look at.

I have only read Germinal and The Ladies' Paradise.

Both were great but couldn't have been more different. Germinal is very bleak and political; TLP is a bit like Mr Selfridge on tv.

I would love to read the whole R-M series but am I ever going to find the time?

It’s a lofty ambition of mine to read them all too. There is a lot of bleakness though, which is something I actually like but not sure for 20 books. Tbh it’s been two years since Therese Raquin and maybe a further two since L’Assomoir so I probably have to speed up if I’m ever going to get there.

I would have said Nana is a very accessible one to tick off the list.

Germinal and La Bete Humaine.

La Terre - The Earth is my recommendation - not quite as harrowing as some of the books

Lourdes is also a very interesting book and made me want to visit which I did - a fascinating place!!!

Germinal is fantastic, one of my favourite books. I also really liked L'Assommoir. I gave up on Nana though as I wasn't enjoying it.

I am just about to start Therese Raquin and looking forward to it.

I am now torn between Nana and Germinal. I’m not even in a position to start a new book before I finish at least one of the ones I am already committed to.

I loved Germinal. It was one of the set texts that I had to study that I actually enjoyed! There is a film of it which I seem to remember being good too.

My favourite is La Curée, but I like them all.

I thought Germinal was even better but Nana seems like a more natural follow on from L'Assommoir.

Germinal or La Bete Humaine. Read them in original French back when I was clever! 🤣

Love Therese Raquin. I have always thought that Camille's corpse is one of the best characters in French literature.

The Earth

Germinal
Required reading for Lit degree many years ago, and I still think of it. Haunting.