Scan barcode
jasonfurman's review
5.0
This book is a masterpiece, so to speak. It centers around the "open air" (i.e., impressionist) Claude Lantier and his struggles to create a masterpiece. The counterpoint is his depressing and tragic relationship with Christine, who ends up a near-martyr to his art. Claude is surrounded by a La Boheme-like group of artists, writers, journalists, and others--including a character based on Zola who is writing a cycle of novels like the Rougon-Macquart cycle.
Zola sets out to write a naturalistic, scientific observation but can't help making it a true novel with a well-structured beginning, middle and end, and a certain amount of melodrama along the way. He also sets out to write a criticism of impressionism and the art world, but ends up making it more of an accidental tribute.
More than the other two Zola novels I've read, this one truly is about Paris. The peripatetic characters traverse much of Paris, with Zola describing all the streets and landmarks they pass in their wanderings. And Lantier's attempted masterpiece is an enormous painting of the Île de la Cité, which is described from every angle and at every time.
It is also much more of a novel of ideas, with long debates on the nature of art and its role in society.
It is also a riveting, moving story from beginning to end.
Zola sets out to write a naturalistic, scientific observation but can't help making it a true novel with a well-structured beginning, middle and end, and a certain amount of melodrama along the way. He also sets out to write a criticism of impressionism and the art world, but ends up making it more of an accidental tribute.
More than the other two Zola novels I've read, this one truly is about Paris. The peripatetic characters traverse much of Paris, with Zola describing all the streets and landmarks they pass in their wanderings. And Lantier's attempted masterpiece is an enormous painting of the Île de la Cité, which is described from every angle and at every time.
It is also much more of a novel of ideas, with long debates on the nature of art and its role in society.
It is also a riveting, moving story from beginning to end.
chen1194's review
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
mariama__y's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
blueyorkie's review against another edition
3.0
This book is a classic of the universal literature of French expression. It always had its works translated into all the languages and still, in very little time, transformed into films and series that have been seen worldwide. This work is an excellent example of literature in the service of causes in the case of Édouard Manet's work of 1863. In defense of this reference to Impressionists and one of the initiators of the contemporary art world, he wrote this work, in 1886, in his later life years.
soupy_twist's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
cozyegg's review
3.0
This book was the latest selection for the book club I belong to. I enjoyed the story, I enjoyed the descriptions of Paris and of the beginnings of the Impressionist style, including the Salon de Refuses. I did find the book overall a little tedious. I think I would have rated it higher had it been about 100 pages shorter. Not that I don't love a long book, but I think it ambled along a lot more than necessary.
100reads's review
dark
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A masterpiece indeed!
celia_valenciaa's review against another edition
4.0
J'ai toujours l'impression d'en apprendre beaucoup en lisant Zola. Ce fut un plaisir de le lire en-dehors du cadre scolaire, mais en ayant des passages analysés par ma sœur de temps à autres ^^
C'est intéressant, moi qui était sûre de détester Zola il y a quelques années, je n'en suis plus du tout là ! J'ai assez envie de redécouvrir Thérèse Raquin, le premier que j'ai lu, pour voir si je n'aime vraiment pas ce roman ou si c'est une affaire d'âge et de moment dans la vie.
C'est intéressant, moi qui était sûre de détester Zola il y a quelques années, je n'en suis plus du tout là ! J'ai assez envie de redécouvrir Thérèse Raquin, le premier que j'ai lu, pour voir si je n'aime vraiment pas ce roman ou si c'est une affaire d'âge et de moment dans la vie.
la_dent_dure's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5