221 reviews for:

L'Assommoir

Émile Zola

3.9 AVERAGE

informative slow-paced

Un classique de la littérature française qu’il est important d’avoir lu je pense.
challenging dark sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
dark reflective sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
dark emotional sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
dark emotional funny sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
challenging dark tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
challenging dark emotional funny sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Probably the best crafted story by Zola I’ve read so far but damn is this a sad book ouch

okay, would have been 4 but kind of put me in a reading slump
dark sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

A strong contender for the most depressing book I've read. It took me a long time to read, but I think that's more my fault than the book's. L'Assommoir starts out sad and then attempts to deceive the reader that things might actually turn out pretty good for the protagonists before slowly spiraling into misery. It was usually captivating enough when I actually got around to reading it, but it did not manage to suck me in. Likely one I'll come back to in the future. 
challenging dark sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes