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cloudytm's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
ken_bookhermit's review against another edition
4.0
With a man's brutality he had just spoiled their love. And she remembered the days when he had been in love with her without being cruel enough to tell her so, those times spent at the bottom of the garden in the serenity of the coming spring.
I haven’t read any prior novels from the Rougon-Macquart series and I only started the series because it was available in my library. As a shot in the dark novel, I enjoyed it with an assumption that the enjoyment comes from the language of the novel itself. Helen Constantine’s translation makes the novel vibrant and keeps me from abandoning it midway on account of my low tolerance towards cheating plot lines. But I can’t help but understand the novel in its didactic message; that adultery is a bourgeois occupation and has the capacity to damage relationships beyond repair.
I haven’t read any prior novels from the Rougon-Macquart series and I only started the series because it was available in my library. As a shot in the dark novel, I enjoyed it with an assumption that the enjoyment comes from the language of the novel itself. Helen Constantine’s translation makes the novel vibrant and keeps me from abandoning it midway on account of my low tolerance towards cheating plot lines. But I can’t help but understand the novel in its didactic message; that adultery is a bourgeois occupation and has the capacity to damage relationships beyond repair.
jgwc54e5's review against another edition
5.0
5stars for how much I enjoyed reading this lesser known Rougon-Macquart novel. I think after the despair and tragedy of [b:The Assommoir|57931959|The Assommoir|Émile Zola|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1636977833l/57931959._SY75_.jpg|741363] it was a pleasure to read this lighter book (it still has tragedy of course ) : the wonderful descriptions of Paris, the sweet love between Rosalie and Zephyrin, the side characters that made me smile from Lucien to the old beggar woman and more. Just wonderful!
Spoiler
Jeanne’s death, the doomed love between Helene and Henria_here's review against another edition
4.5
"... a miniature doll, drove her to despair when it let its head get crushed. She had been so fond of it, she had even buried it secretly in the corner of the yard. And later, with pressing need to see her again, she had dug her up and made herself sick with fear, when she found she was so blackened and ugly. It was always others who stopped loving first. They broke, or they left you. Well anyway, it was their fault. But why? She did not change. When she loved someone it was for life. She could not understand why they went away. It was a terrible thing, monstrous, her little heart broke when she thought of it. She shuddered at the muddled thoughts which were slowly dawning on her. So one day they left you, you went your separate ways, you did not see them any more, you did not love them any more. And as she contemplated the immensity and melancholy that was Paris, the passionate twelve-year-old felt chilled by what she divined about the cruelty of life."
Part 4, Chapter 5, p 207
"...she was asleep in the dark, she did not even withdraw her hand; clear drops fell from her reddened fingers, one by one, into the vast spaces opening up under the window. It lasted for hours and hours. On the horizon Paris had vanished like a shadow city, the sky was lost in the bewildering chaos extending everywhere. The grey rain continued to fall, obstinately."
Part 4, Chapter 5, p 214
"The Helene, gazing out at it one last time, took in the impassive city which, like Henri, remained a mystery. It was peaceful as ever and as if immortal under the snow, just as she had left it, just as she had seen it for three years. Paris for her was full of her past. It had been with her when she had fallen in love, and when Jeanne died. But that companion of her days was still serene, indifferent, its gigantic face dispassionate, the silent witness of laughter and tears which seamed to float down the Seine. At one time or another she had thought it possessed the ferocity of a monster, or the bounty of a Colossus. Today she sensed that she would never fathom its indifference, its vastness. It unfolded. It was life."
Part 5, Chapter 5, p 266
Part 4, Chapter 5, p 207
"...she was asleep in the dark, she did not even withdraw her hand; clear drops fell from her reddened fingers, one by one, into the vast spaces opening up under the window. It lasted for hours and hours. On the horizon Paris had vanished like a shadow city, the sky was lost in the bewildering chaos extending everywhere. The grey rain continued to fall, obstinately."
Part 4, Chapter 5, p 214
"The Helene, gazing out at it one last time, took in the impassive city which, like Henri, remained a mystery. It was peaceful as ever and as if immortal under the snow, just as she had left it, just as she had seen it for three years. Paris for her was full of her past. It had been with her when she had fallen in love, and when Jeanne died. But that companion of her days was still serene, indifferent, its gigantic face dispassionate, the silent witness of laughter and tears which seamed to float down the Seine. At one time or another she had thought it possessed the ferocity of a monster, or the bounty of a Colossus. Today she sensed that she would never fathom its indifference, its vastness. It unfolded. It was life."
Part 5, Chapter 5, p 266
dissendiumnox's review against another edition
4.0
4,5/5 • Que d'amour dans ce roman ! Tellement différent de ce à quoi nous a habitué Zola mais ça reste bien un tome des Rougon-Macquart, avec sa cruauté et sa dose de malheur ! Pourtant, j'ai ressenti beaucoup de douceur, je me suis profondément attaché à la mère Helene et à la fille Jeanne. J'ai été subjugué par les descriptions merveilleuse de Paris depuis la fenêtre de Passy. Petit "bémol" minuscule parce que je suis relou, je trouve la vision de Zola un peu trop pessimiste et radicale: soit on vit une vie ennuyeuse et Plate Mais on vit sans malheur, ou on vit passionnée, en couleur et il nous arrive des choses terribles. Mouais.
hiba59's review against another edition
5.0
Ce tome des Rougon-Macquart est absolument mon favori, suivi par Le Ventre de Paris.
C'est l'histoire d'Hélène, fille d'Ursule Macquart et du chapelier Mouret, orpheline, elle se marie à un certain Grandjean avec qui elle a une fille nommée Jeanne, dont le père meurt juste après être installé à Paris. Hélène vit seule avec sa fille qui est proie à des "crises" que j'ai pris pour être rien que des crises capricieuses et jalouses.
La petite Jeanne que j'ai essayé de ne pas haïr a fini par être un cauchemar dans la vie de sa maman, qu'elle empêche de vivre à son aise. Alors en sachant que sa mère a une lueur amoureuse et que ses yeux brillaient avec autre chose que son amour à Jeanne, celle-ci décide de se mettre sous la pluie et a de suite la tuberculose.
Malgré l'adultère présente dans le livre, je n'ai pas détesté l'amour entre Hélène et Henri Deberle, je l'ai jugé d'être plutôt un amour doux, et non pas flamboyant, c'était un amour de loin et qui se contenté des poignées de main et des regards pleins de passion.
J'ai trop aimé ce tome, c'était chargé d'émotions et très différent de mes dernières lectures, ça m'a fait tombée amoureuse encore une fois des écritures de Zola desquelles je suis très reconnaissante.
C'est l'histoire d'Hélène, fille d'Ursule Macquart et du chapelier Mouret, orpheline, elle se marie à un certain Grandjean avec qui elle a une fille nommée Jeanne, dont le père meurt juste après être installé à Paris. Hélène vit seule avec sa fille qui est proie à des "crises" que j'ai pris pour être rien que des crises capricieuses et jalouses.
La petite Jeanne que j'ai essayé de ne pas haïr a fini par être un cauchemar dans la vie de sa maman, qu'elle empêche de vivre à son aise. Alors en sachant que sa mère a une lueur amoureuse et que ses yeux brillaient avec autre chose que son amour à Jeanne, celle-ci décide de se mettre sous la pluie et a de suite la tuberculose.
Malgré l'adultère présente dans le livre, je n'ai pas détesté l'amour entre Hélène et Henri Deberle, je l'ai jugé d'être plutôt un amour doux, et non pas flamboyant, c'était un amour de loin et qui se contenté des poignées de main et des regards pleins de passion.
J'ai trop aimé ce tome, c'était chargé d'émotions et très différent de mes dernières lectures, ça m'a fait tombée amoureuse encore une fois des écritures de Zola desquelles je suis très reconnaissante.
lourher's review against another edition
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
cindywho's review against another edition
3.0
This one was full of loving descriptions of Paris - viewed from afar by a lonely widow with a demanding sickly child. Forbidden love ensues...