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A review by thebookboy
Thérèse Raquin by Émile Zola
5.0
An exceptional, dark little book that brims with malice, passion and the weight of how consequences can change and ruin lives.
Annoyingly, I went into this book having previously watched the film version without realising that the two are related (the film is called In Secret and stars some wonderful acting talent, including Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy!)) so I think that did very slightly ruin the enjoyment for me as I knew all of the major points of the book before they occurred in my read through. However, I don't think this took away enough to detract from my overall reading experience, and I think this book may seriously be one of my favourites of the year so far.
I was utterly entranced by the delicate balance of passion and insanity, the wonderful descriptions and Zola's masterful ability to capture that sort of feral madness that could easily exist in us all. Therese is a really interesting character, Laurent is highly believable and Madame Raquin was also wonderfully realised, with the host of supporting characters all adding a touch of realistic community and weight to the general story.
I won't ruin it by going through the plot, and in actuality it's not one of those books where not a lot happens besides one really major event. I would describe it as more of a character study exploring how people react once something unspeakable has occurred.
Fab stuff and I definitely recommend it to anyone who wants something sinister and quick to read but with very high quality writing.
Annoyingly, I went into this book having previously watched the film version without realising that the two are related (the film is called In Secret and stars some wonderful acting talent, including Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy!)) so I think that did very slightly ruin the enjoyment for me as I knew all of the major points of the book before they occurred in my read through. However, I don't think this took away enough to detract from my overall reading experience, and I think this book may seriously be one of my favourites of the year so far.
I was utterly entranced by the delicate balance of passion and insanity, the wonderful descriptions and Zola's masterful ability to capture that sort of feral madness that could easily exist in us all. Therese is a really interesting character, Laurent is highly believable and Madame Raquin was also wonderfully realised, with the host of supporting characters all adding a touch of realistic community and weight to the general story.
I won't ruin it by going through the plot, and in actuality it's not one of those books where not a lot happens besides one really major event. I would describe it as more of a character study exploring how people react once something unspeakable has occurred.
Fab stuff and I definitely recommend it to anyone who wants something sinister and quick to read but with very high quality writing.