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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
no one does it like Zola - although I can't pin down what 'it' is. his books just feel so full of energy and life that you really feel like you're there, in the Paris of the past, taking in every horrible detail. I remember hearing how Joyce said if Dublin burnt down, you could rebuild it from his writing, and the same could be said Zola's Paris. you know every stain on the walls and every crack in the floor - but it doesn't feel like a list. the descriptions have so much colour, each tiny observation feels important and exciting. his characters dance in and out of one another so quickly it really makes you feel like they're living and dying in the present tense, rather than 150 years ago.
I enjoyed reading about Paris, and I liked some of this book for the insight it provided on a certain set of people. Overall, however, I was underwhelmed and annoyed by the treatment and behavior of the characters, and I didn’t care enough about them to be affected by the poor choices they made.
"Never before had he felt more keenly the wretchedness of his love, the waste of his solemn devotion in this absurd life of pleasure."
What a book! The version I read was only 470 pages, but it seemed so much more.
Nana is a high-class Parisian prostitute who enthralls rich men and women for her own luxurious pleasures. Her desires consume those around her until eventually, her greediness consumes her as well.
I found some parts of Nana a drag, while others were so beautifully written that I reread the passage several times. The settings were so vividly described, as were some characters, primarily Nana. Throughout the course of the novel, you can see how Nana influences those around her, and how the author exposes the problems of high class Paris in the late 1800s. A bit of a bore at times, but overall I loved Nana, especially the writing. Reading this book made me want to become a woman in a baroque painting.
What a book! The version I read was only 470 pages, but it seemed so much more.
Nana is a high-class Parisian prostitute who enthralls rich men and women for her own luxurious pleasures. Her desires consume those around her until eventually, her greediness consumes her as well.
I found some parts of Nana a drag, while others were so beautifully written that I reread the passage several times. The settings were so vividly described, as were some characters, primarily Nana. Throughout the course of the novel, you can see how Nana influences those around her, and how the author exposes the problems of high class Paris in the late 1800s. A bit of a bore at times, but overall I loved Nana, especially the writing. Reading this book made me want to become a woman in a baroque painting.
Whoo zowie. Total roller-coaster of crazy with this like, self-important scheming prima donna of an "actress". Fantastic downer of an ending that works to justify all the juicy little sins the characters indulge in. Interesting look at how marriage and mistresses once worked going on in the background too.