Pam, loved "The Dram Shop" too ("L'Assomoir"). D�finitely one of
my favorites. I wasn't that taken with "Nana" either on first
reading, probably because the episodic style (all of Zola's
novels were first published as serials in newspapers) didn't gel
as well in book forms. However I find nana a fascinating
character study, with her mix of innocence and goodwill tainted
with ruthlessness and selfishness. "The earth" I positively
loathed, as I thought it was way over the top even by Zola's
standards (the gruesome fate of the younger sister being the
worst example.)
If you haven't read them I strongly suggest "Germinal" whoch
follows Etienne, one of Gervaise's sons, as he tries to organize
a village of coalminers into some sort of union - with tragic
results. This book was a milestone in french social history as
it alerted the nation over the horrific conditions coalminers
had to work and live under.
Two novels which might belong better to this group are "La Bete
Humaine" (The Human Beast?) and "The Sin Of Father Mouret" (La
Faute de l'Abbe Mouret).
A parable on sexual intolerance and the original sin, "Father
Mouret" and is one of Zola's less realistic and more poetic
works, featuring a churchman struggling with temptation, a
haunted garden and the intoxicating perfume of flowers.
"La Bete Humain" follows the fate of Gervaise's younger son, and
a different kind of struggle: the sexual thrill he derives from
the idea of killing. Having fought with his tendencies all his
life, he finds them taking over as he realizes how many of his
peers give in to them - including his mistress, whom he first
meets as a suspect in a murder case.
This is one of the earliest novels I can think of studying the
psychology of a serial killer, long before the term was coined,
and is the closest Zola has ever come to horror IMO - including
a train wreck scene which is nothing short of apocalyptic. The
movie by Jean Renoir (starring Jean Gabin and Simone "Cat
People" Simon) while very good, tones it down by 90%, but the
book is a must read for pre-20st century horror.
--- Pam Gearhart <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I just discovered Zola last year, and I find elements of
> horror (or things
> that horrify me) in just about everything he writes, whether
> or not it's
> intentional.
>
> My favorite Zola is The Dram Shop, I think Gervaise is one of
> the best
> literary characters ever created.
>
> The aunt in The Earth was a great character too -- I've
> forgotten her
> name -- the woman who worked her niece to death.
>
> So far, Nana is the only Zola I haven't been entranced by --
> she's just too
> unsympathetic for me, probably because I liked Gervaise (her
> mother) so
> much.
> <snipped for digest readers>
>
>
=====
test'; ">
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