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A review by cristi_ivan
Thérèse Raquin by Émile Zola
5.0
Wasn’t expecting this kind of horror.
Therese Raquin is truly a classic masterpiece dealing with themes of human nature, carnal desires and murder. Therese lives her boring, mundane life, inside a decrepit and musty shop, in the passage of Pont-Nuef in Paris. She lives an uneventful life, caught in the ordinary passing of days; she shows no emotions, she knows no happiness. Her only purpose is to care for Camille, her hypochondriac husband (and cousin) and help her mother-in-law with household chores. But everything changes when Camille comes home one evening with an old friend, Laurent.
A torrid affair starts between Therese and Laurent and they soon find themselves inside uncharted territories of the human emotional spectrum. They soon start to crave one another, but the continuous presence of Therese’s husband prevents them from freely expressing their love. So, after a short brainstorming session, they come up with the solution – killing Camille would give them the much desired freedom to live their life together.
After they go on with their plan, drowning Camille in the Seine, the novel gets incredibly dark and foreboding, changing tracks towards a more gothic approach of grief and remorse. The murdered husband comes back to haunt his murderers – a swollen, black corpse, dripping with water follows them everywhere, reminding them about their darkest side.
I would’ve given this book five stars – it has an engaging plot, beautifully constructed characters, incredible execution and choice of words. The only thing that makes me lower to four stars is the way it kind of dragged in the second half. At some point, it felt a little bit too repetitive.
Therese Raquin is truly a classic masterpiece dealing with themes of human nature, carnal desires and murder. Therese lives her boring, mundane life, inside a decrepit and musty shop, in the passage of Pont-Nuef in Paris. She lives an uneventful life, caught in the ordinary passing of days; she shows no emotions, she knows no happiness. Her only purpose is to care for Camille, her hypochondriac husband (and cousin) and help her mother-in-law with household chores. But everything changes when Camille comes home one evening with an old friend, Laurent.
A torrid affair starts between Therese and Laurent and they soon find themselves inside uncharted territories of the human emotional spectrum. They soon start to crave one another, but the continuous presence of Therese’s husband prevents them from freely expressing their love. So, after a short brainstorming session, they come up with the solution – killing Camille would give them the much desired freedom to live their life together.
After they go on with their plan, drowning Camille in the Seine, the novel gets incredibly dark and foreboding, changing tracks towards a more gothic approach of grief and remorse. The murdered husband comes back to haunt his murderers – a swollen, black corpse, dripping with water follows them everywhere, reminding them about their darkest side.
I would’ve given this book five stars – it has an engaging plot, beautifully constructed characters, incredible execution and choice of words. The only thing that makes me lower to four stars is the way it kind of dragged in the second half. At some point, it felt a little bit too repetitive.