msgtdameron 's review for:

The Belly of Paris by Émile Zola

3.5

lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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The main character of this work is Les Halles, the main food market in Paris from forever, and most noticeably in 1858, 59.  The human characters are merely devices to show the reader around Les Halles.  There is a plot line involving an attempt to over throw the Republic.  This is led by Florent, an escapee from Devils Island who returns to his brother, Quenu, and gets a job as a fish inspector.  This job and Quenu's charcuterie leads the reader through the sights and more importantly the smells of Les Halles.  From the making of sausage, boudin, jambonneaux, pates in the Charcuterie and the smell of the cooking, especially the blood sausage, boudin, to the smells of the cheese shop where the gossips of Les Halles meet to plot Florent's downfall at the hand of the police.  Each section of Les Halles has it's own smell and Zola describes each section, fish to flowers, green vegetables, beef, pork, cheese, bread becomes for us an epicurean delight and if you have a memory of these smells at any time in your life, hopefully you will be like me and transported into the remembrance and also into Les Halles of 1859/58.  Great olfactory experience, gets five stars; plot line not so much gets two stars.