Stunningly French. This book was a beautifully written extrodinarily dark work about the horrors and hoplessnes of capitalism and its discontents. Zola manages to make you pity all of his characters while liking none of them- even his hero is at times despicable. Just as Zola refuses to offer heroics he likewise refuses to offer a solution to the problems of worker exploitation in a French mining...
more Stunningly French. This book was a beautifully written extrodinarily dark work about the horrors and hoplessnes of capitalism and its discontents. Zola manages to make you pity all of his characters while liking none of them- even his hero is at times despicable. Just as Zola refuses to offer heroics he likewise refuses to offer a solution to the problems of worker exploitation in a French mining town in the mid-19th century. the anarchists and communists are as flawed as the mine bosses. the one thing that zola does write really uncompromisingly is villans- there are plenty of people to hate in this book, and plenty of heart-wrenching tragedy, but very little light at the end of the tunnel. Zola must have been a very bitter man. But out of all the hardship, hate, senseless death and really horrible happenings (did I mention this is a dark book?) Zola manages to pull moments of beauty which mark him as a great writer. Still, not exactly light readng, unless French novels are your thing.
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