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A review by annyway47
The Masterpiece by Émile Zola
5.0
This book has absolutely WRECKED me. This review is written by a pile of ashes.
The Masterpiece is populated by artists, passionate, ambitious and young, feverish with their ideas and ideals. They are immersed in the world of literature and art, contribute to it, fight against it and for it. They crave glory and kill themselves with work, striving to rise above mediocrity. And people who love them have to deal with all of that, and it's a lot. It was fascinating and heartbreaking, really.
The writing was amazing. I fell in love with the characters and empathized with a lot of what they felt and thought. Zola is now one of my favorite writers. "The Masterpiece" is a work of pure genius.
I picked this book up as a tie-in for my non-fiction read of [b:Degas|27989101|Degas|Bernd Growe|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1457290824l/27989101._SX50_.jpg|909352], because the main character, a fictional artist Claude Lantier, is also a XIX-century impressionist making a career in Paris. Though it is said Lantier was actually based partly on Cezanne, partly on Manet, who were friends with Zola.
The Masterpiece is populated by artists, passionate, ambitious and young, feverish with their ideas and ideals. They are immersed in the world of literature and art, contribute to it, fight against it and for it. They crave glory and kill themselves with work, striving to rise above mediocrity. And people who love them have to deal with all of that, and it's a lot. It was fascinating and heartbreaking, really.
The writing was amazing. I fell in love with the characters and empathized with a lot of what they felt and thought. Zola is now one of my favorite writers. "The Masterpiece" is a work of pure genius.
I picked this book up as a tie-in for my non-fiction read of [b:Degas|27989101|Degas|Bernd Growe|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1457290824l/27989101._SX50_.jpg|909352], because the main character, a fictional artist Claude Lantier, is also a XIX-century impressionist making a career in Paris. Though it is said Lantier was actually based partly on Cezanne, partly on Manet, who were friends with Zola.