Therese Raquin (Penguin Classics)

Zola's much better known for his painstakingly detailed, deceptively lyrical stories set in France of the Second Empire of the mid-nineteenth century, although really aimed at the France of the late nineteenth century Third Republic. THERESE RAQUIN, his earliest major work, stands out as a relatively simple story of jealousy, adultery, and murder in a small family. It's also an indication, as if...more

Zola's much better known for his painstakingly detailed, deceptively lyrical stories set in France of the Second Empire of the mid-nineteenth century, although really aimed at the France of the late nineteenth century Third Republic. THERESE RAQUIN, his earliest major work, stands out as a relatively simple story of jealousy, adultery, and murder in a small family. It's also an indication, as if one were needed, of Zola's unwillingness to compromise on the frequently grim and unpleasant endings (as so often in life) which marked many of his great later novels. The ending is a little TOO grim to the extent that it nearly crosses the line into Grand Guignol, but THERESE RAQUIN maintains its power to shock and horrify, especially with a bravura setpiece later in the novel involving a dinner party that's at once excruciating and hypnotic. While many of Zola's later works such as NANA and L'ASSOMOIR (and even "lighter" fare such as AU BONHEUR DES DAMES) are more deeply and richly populated with character and incident, THERESE RAQUIN's an admirable, if extremely depressing, and concise story that demonstrated both to Zola's world and to ours that here was a writer one ignored to one's cost.   hide

Book Club #26. I despised this book. Except for the page and a half which depicted a scene from The Luncheon of the Boating Party. The most depressing, useless piece of writing I've ever read. Did I say I didn't like it?

an analytic study of temperament. good read. classic. :) an analytic study of temperament

brill book set in paris about a doomed love affair between a lonely young woman and an artist.

Dark and depraved and full of dispicable characters. Worth reading for the grimey descriptions, and the ending...

Un condensé des affreux visages que la nature humaine peut prendre ! Du grand Zola ! Qui n'a pas un jour ressenti l'un des sentiments décrit avec tant de précision dans les romans de Zola dont celui ! Comment ne pas à un moment ou un autre s'identifier un tant soit peu malgré le décalage temporel...

Murder and sex, that was about it. If you like those two things then read it

I love Zola, but I was disappointed with this book as a whole. The thing I appreciated most about this book was the engaging set of descriptions of old Paris. The story itself was ponderous and though the book was short, I thought it would never end. In that way it was sort of like February in upstate NY.

Frustrant