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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
bknds's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The Masterpiece follows artist Claude Lantier for over a decade, as he struggles to paint work that both satisfies himself and the Parisian public. Taking place during the mid-1800s, Claude and his artist friends are slaves not only to themselves and their works, but to public acceptance through the Salon, art dealers, and art critics.
This is the first Zola I’ve read, and so I cannot pull an context from the other 20-odd books that are loosely apart of this “series”; however, having gone to art school and studied art history, I felt a kindredness to the story and Claude and his friends (some more than others!) I think having some art historical knowledge, particularly about this time period or the Impressionist artists, would be invaluable if not necessary to enjoying the work. What I thought would be a heavy to sift through text turned out to not be so; instead I found Zola’s writing (and this English translation) both palatable, accessible, and beautiful. Zola’s descriptions of the art works in the novel, of Paris, and of artistic struggle hooked me and resonated with me as an artist myself.
This is the first Zola I’ve read, and so I cannot pull an context from the other 20-odd books that are loosely apart of this “series”; however, having gone to art school and studied art history, I felt a kindredness to the story and Claude and his friends (some more than others!) I think having some art historical knowledge, particularly about this time period or the Impressionist artists, would be invaluable if not necessary to enjoying the work. What I thought would be a heavy to sift through text turned out to not be so; instead I found Zola’s writing (and this English translation) both palatable, accessible, and beautiful. Zola’s descriptions of the art works in the novel, of Paris, and of artistic struggle hooked me and resonated with me as an artist myself.
nerzola's review against another edition
5.0
"No, non è abbastanza...io non voglio andarmene con te, io non voglio essere felice, io voglio dipingere."
hiba59's review against another edition
2.0
Ce roman fait partie des plus faibles de la série les Rougon-Macquart pour moi. Je n'ai pas pu m'accrocher au charactère du peintre et jusqu'à la fin, j'ai été passive. La fin seule m'a interessé.
Je n'ai pas trouvé ici le Zola du Ventre de Paris par exemple, ou le Zola de Nana. Ce que j'ai lu ne me semble pas faire partie de l'écriture magnifique que j'ai connu.
Je n'ai pas trouvé ici le Zola du Ventre de Paris par exemple, ou le Zola de Nana. Ce que j'ai lu ne me semble pas faire partie de l'écriture magnifique que j'ai connu.
msand3's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars. The fourteenth novel in the Rougon-Macquart cycle (both in published order and in Zola’s recommended reading order) is a love triangle among an artist, his wife, and his painting. At one point the wife must battle against her own idealized image, over which Claude obsesses for years. She loses her husband to the image of her ideal past self which she can never possibly live up to (even when she was younger), and which her husband can never truly obtain through his art.
This is one of my least favorite novels in the cycle for a couple reasons. As this is Zola’s most autobiographical novel (Sandoz is obviously a fictionalized Zola), the characters and events feel too imbued with insider information, as if Zola had an axe to grind. While this may have been a fascinating insight for Zola’s contemporary readers, and may still have some appeal for anyone taken with early Impressionist artists and their world, for me it comes across as dated, even as Zola attempts to make larger universal points about the "troubled genius" trying to make his way in a world that can only scoff at him or exploit him. But this is such an old trope that it doesn’t make for a very original or enlightening topic. Secondly, the ending is perhaps Zola’s most melodramatic, which is saying quite a lot considering some of his endings! It was perhaps a bit too over-the-top even for me, and I call Zola one of my favorite writers.
That being said, there are some beautiful moments of ekphrasis throughout the novel, as Zola describes in vivid detail both the visual elements of the canvas, as well as the labors of the artist to bring forth those images. On top of this, Zola includes some of the most stunning and sumptuous descriptions of Paris I’ve ever read. As with most of his novels, the setting becomes both a symbolic commentary on the events in the plot and, particularly in this case, like another character -- a “lover” that rips Claude apart as much as his devotion to his idealized muse, both of which he can never fully attain.
For these reasons, the novel isn’t a total wash for me. There are images and scenes that ring with the same beauty and truth (sometimes quite grim) that pervade the best of Zola’s work, but also moments that were either not relatable (since I am neither an insider in this world nor an artist) or a little too maudlin. Perhaps it is worth a look only after reading Zola’s greater works.
This is one of my least favorite novels in the cycle for a couple reasons. As this is Zola’s most autobiographical novel (Sandoz is obviously a fictionalized Zola), the characters and events feel too imbued with insider information, as if Zola had an axe to grind. While this may have been a fascinating insight for Zola’s contemporary readers, and may still have some appeal for anyone taken with early Impressionist artists and their world, for me it comes across as dated, even as Zola attempts to make larger universal points about the "troubled genius" trying to make his way in a world that can only scoff at him or exploit him. But this is such an old trope that it doesn’t make for a very original or enlightening topic. Secondly, the ending is perhaps Zola’s most melodramatic, which is saying quite a lot considering some of his endings! It was perhaps a bit too over-the-top even for me, and I call Zola one of my favorite writers.
That being said, there are some beautiful moments of ekphrasis throughout the novel, as Zola describes in vivid detail both the visual elements of the canvas, as well as the labors of the artist to bring forth those images. On top of this, Zola includes some of the most stunning and sumptuous descriptions of Paris I’ve ever read. As with most of his novels, the setting becomes both a symbolic commentary on the events in the plot and, particularly in this case, like another character -- a “lover” that rips Claude apart as much as his devotion to his idealized muse, both of which he can never fully attain.
For these reasons, the novel isn’t a total wash for me. There are images and scenes that ring with the same beauty and truth (sometimes quite grim) that pervade the best of Zola’s work, but also moments that were either not relatable (since I am neither an insider in this world nor an artist) or a little too maudlin. Perhaps it is worth a look only after reading Zola’s greater works.
leoniev's review against another edition
4.0
4,75 je ne note pas mes livres de cours avant de les avoir étudiés, mais celui ci... wow
je ne pensais vraiment pas que je serais capable d’autant l’aimer, je pense que c’est maintenant mon classique préféré et je ne pensais vraiment pas possible pour moi d’être autant capturée dans un classique comme je l’ai été dans celui ci!
ça serait très sincèrement un 5 étoiles si ce n’était pas pour les problèmes de l’époque comme la misogynie qui malgré l’excuse de la période me font grincer des dents
WOW
quelle surprise
j’ai trop hâte de l’étudier
je ne pensais vraiment pas que je serais capable d’autant l’aimer, je pense que c’est maintenant mon classique préféré et je ne pensais vraiment pas possible pour moi d’être autant capturée dans un classique comme je l’ai été dans celui ci!
ça serait très sincèrement un 5 étoiles si ce n’était pas pour les problèmes de l’époque comme la misogynie qui malgré l’excuse de la période me font grincer des dents
WOW
quelle surprise
j’ai trop hâte de l’étudier
sandraisbooked's review against another edition
4.0
This book really resonated with me.
The mania. The frustrations. The art.
Sure; they are some long and tedious parts.
But I liked it. I actually sympathize with all of the characters, sure, sometimes they're rude and cocky and self-absorbed but at the end they were all striving and starving artists; sculptors, painters, writers, etc.
Maybe it's because I self-identity that I can pass less of a judgment on them than non-artisticly oriented people?
Overall, a fascinating read on striving surrealist artists.
The mania. The frustrations. The art.
Sure; they are some long and tedious parts.
But I liked it. I actually sympathize with all of the characters, sure, sometimes they're rude and cocky and self-absorbed but at the end they were all striving and starving artists; sculptors, painters, writers, etc.
Maybe it's because I self-identity that I can pass less of a judgment on them than non-artisticly oriented people?
Overall, a fascinating read on striving surrealist artists.