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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
Bit repetitive. Satisfying ending. Enjoyed the first half more. Very accessible.
This is Kate Winslets favourite book. I've decided Kate Winslet has excellent taste in books.
Thérèse Raquin is a tale of murder, adultery and psychological drama. It is like a very dark, sinister french Romeo and Juliet. Basically Madame Raquin is the mother of Camille, a sickly mollycoddled boy. She is entrusted to take care of her niece, Thérèse, and brings up the pair, treating Thérèse as though she suffers the same maladies as her cousin, keeping her more or less captive indoors with only the unendurable Camille for company. She adopts an impassive nature and when her aunt decides the pair should marry that's what happens.
Camille introduces a peasant painter and clerk called Laurent into their lives and its not long before Thérèse and Laurent enter into a torrid affair. Zola portrays the too as having an almost feral animal quality, motivated entirely by feeling not thought. Their all consuming passion soon motivates them to kill Camille so the path would be clear for them to be together. And that's where Zola really heaps on the misery for the pair. The guilt of the crime haunts the pair and it escalates to really quite gruesome and shocking levels.
Often the greatest suffering that can be inflicted upon someone is that which comes from within themselves, that is the thoughts that fester in their own psyche. Zola's portrayal of this here is resounding. The depiction of the pairs paranoia and the ravages it has on their minds really was some of the most horrifying but tremendous writing i've had the joy to read. As was the whole novel.
Thérèse Raquin is a tale of murder, adultery and psychological drama. It is like a very dark, sinister french Romeo and Juliet. Basically Madame Raquin is the mother of Camille, a sickly mollycoddled boy. She is entrusted to take care of her niece, Thérèse, and brings up the pair, treating Thérèse as though she suffers the same maladies as her cousin, keeping her more or less captive indoors with only the unendurable Camille for company. She adopts an impassive nature and when her aunt decides the pair should marry that's what happens.
Camille introduces a peasant painter and clerk called Laurent into their lives and its not long before Thérèse and Laurent enter into a torrid affair. Zola portrays the too as having an almost feral animal quality, motivated entirely by feeling not thought. Their all consuming passion soon motivates them to kill Camille so the path would be clear for them to be together. And that's where Zola really heaps on the misery for the pair. The guilt of the crime haunts the pair and it escalates to really quite gruesome and shocking levels.
Often the greatest suffering that can be inflicted upon someone is that which comes from within themselves, that is the thoughts that fester in their own psyche. Zola's portrayal of this here is resounding. The depiction of the pairs paranoia and the ravages it has on their minds really was some of the most horrifying but tremendous writing i've had the joy to read. As was the whole novel.
Such a powerful book, towards the ending I was so upset! Thérèse Raquin is the story of a girl raised in endless boredom by her aunt, alongside a sickly little cousin who in time was to be her betrothed. The story is a dark exploration of human nature and impulses, and the lasting effects of crime on one's conscience.
Loved it.
Loved it.
Une fin un peu précipitée... mais c'est Zola après tout!
Billet sur le blogue: http://moncoinlecture.com/therese-raquin-emile-zola/
Billet sur le blogue: http://moncoinlecture.com/therese-raquin-emile-zola/
A portrait of a descent into madness of a couple after a murder. It’s really a horror story about horrible people doing horrible things. The atmosphere is claustrophobic and Zola’s description of the corpse as it haunts the guilty couple is vivid, you can almost smell it! It’s a strange book as none of the characters are really interesting people but the book is hard to put down nonetheless.
My version was the audio read by Kate Winslet. I have loved the dark, twisted nature of the two warped lovers and the intensity of Madam Raquin. Superb macabre reading and one to listen to again possibly nearer to Halloween. I look forward to listening or reading other novels by this author.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Would have been a five star if it had not been for the unnecessary domestic abuse.
the less deranged sibling of la bête humaine. it's far from zola's best but it is still darkly fascinating and a great, dramatic insight into 19th century paris. the numerous pages dedicated to the bodies on display at the morgue really summarise its morbid appeal.