Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
Therese is a young woman living in Paris with her husband Camille and his mother. She grew up with them and was forced to marry Camille, her cousin. Her life is loveless, quiet and empty until she falls in love with Camilles childhood friend Laurent. When she is alone with Laurent, she lets herself be her actual self, and not that calm person who has no opinion on anything and whose only purpose in life is to be a good wife and a good daughter-in-law she taught herself to be at home. The two of them do something they think will set them free but instead it haunts them from that point on. This book is so atmospheric and dark and gripping; there are certain scenes that are so good I had to reread them. Zola said that he intended to "study temperaments and not characters" and this is the best novel of that kind I've ever read. If you found these things interesting, give it a go, it's a novel you will not easily forget.
It was good at first but later I became bored and annoyed.
i'm really sorry but this book isnt' my cup of tea.
Zola was a bit pretentious and self-deceiving in defending this novel against its critics. Granted, they were over the top in calling it pornography (though gosh, it’s pretty sexy for the 1860s), but in his introduction to the second edition, Zola sententiously declares that his intentions were purely scientific, that “I simply applied to two living bodies [the main character and her lover] the analytical method that surgeons apply to corpses.” So it came as a surprise to find that his tale of adultery gone awry - totally new and scientific twist, right? - piles on the Gothic foreboding and peculiar theorizing about temperaments (nervous/feminine, sanguine/male). Had he been more scientific it might not have been as weird and fun a story, however.
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
book wasn’t necessarily bad just long and lots of trigger warnings which my teacher didn’t warn us. I do understand the literature part if it being a classic or whatever
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I seriously struggled with the latter part of this book and it was in all honesty a chore to finish. This was very disappointing as I adore Emile Zola's work!
In his usual descriptive style the story opens with perfect scene setting and delightfully written characters that you feel you know after a few pages. The beginning was inspiring and you were drawn into this beautiful historical Paris. Story wise you are quickly drawn into the lives of the characters and they are completely captivating in their presentation. They are written as unique individuals but not so unique that they would not be found in the situations they are in.
The story itself is clever and you are drawn into Therese's world very quickly and absorbed by her life and the events that control her existence. Without giving too much away, you agree with her decisions and get swept up in her flaws and strengths and urge her actions with the same passion that she is written to possess. The other characters are there as an almost supporting act in the unravelling of this woman's life but it suits the tale and the narrative. Events in the story build in a fantastically balanced way in the beginning, drawing you deeper in and really captivating you in seeing what will happen next... then the fallout of the events....
This is where I believe the story loses its joie de vivre. In my opinion the books dies at this point. The same phrases are repeated, the same atmosphere and the same reactions by the characters for page after page. In my opinion the book stagnates. After the passion, the thrill and the pace of the beginning you feel left at the bottom of a waterfall, without a paddle on an almost still lake. You want to get to the shore but you just don't have the means or the will after a while because the lake is the same no matter how far you travel. For me, this ending ruined the book. The last few chapters could have easily been condensed into two without losing anything from the story rather than allowing it to be dragged out so far with so little addition.
In his usual descriptive style the story opens with perfect scene setting and delightfully written characters that you feel you know after a few pages. The beginning was inspiring and you were drawn into this beautiful historical Paris. Story wise you are quickly drawn into the lives of the characters and they are completely captivating in their presentation. They are written as unique individuals but not so unique that they would not be found in the situations they are in.
The story itself is clever and you are drawn into Therese's world very quickly and absorbed by her life and the events that control her existence. Without giving too much away, you agree with her decisions and get swept up in her flaws and strengths and urge her actions with the same passion that she is written to possess. The other characters are there as an almost supporting act in the unravelling of this woman's life but it suits the tale and the narrative. Events in the story build in a fantastically balanced way in the beginning, drawing you deeper in and really captivating you in seeing what will happen next... then the fallout of the events....
This is where I believe the story loses its joie de vivre. In my opinion the books dies at this point. The same phrases are repeated, the same atmosphere and the same reactions by the characters for page after page. In my opinion the book stagnates. After the passion, the thrill and the pace of the beginning you feel left at the bottom of a waterfall, without a paddle on an almost still lake. You want to get to the shore but you just don't have the means or the will after a while because the lake is the same no matter how far you travel. For me, this ending ruined the book. The last few chapters could have easily been condensed into two without losing anything from the story rather than allowing it to be dragged out so far with so little addition.
