191. La Bete Humaine

La Bete Humaine
The Monomaniac
Emile Zola
1890
Around 500 pages

The last two entries on the List were both appallingly racist and shamelessly misogynistic, so I was eager for some Zola to alleviate the hangover. Not that Zola necessarily makes me feel more hopeful about humanity, but at least he is slightly less hateful about it.

It is not really necessary to have read the preceding novels in this series to understand the story, but if you have, it might interest you to know that the Human Beast of the title is Lantier, brother of Etienne (from Germinal) and half-brother of Nana (from The Drunkard and Nana). Lantier is frequently visited by the impulse to brutally murder women, but so far he has successfully resisted. Instead, he focuses his energies on running a train engine, which he is creepily enamoured with. Meanwhile, Rouband is a station master who suspects his wife Severine had an affair with one of the station directors. Rouband also happens to be a homicidal maniac, so he resolves to do something about it. Lantier becomes involved with Severine, which leads to even more murderous mayhem.

I have seen this title translated a few different ways: The Human Beast, The Beast Within, The Monomaniac, and Judas is a Woman. That last one really gets me; it's not enough that they will hold Eve over our heads for all eternity. Now the crucifixion is our fault as well. In any case, no one can inhabit the mind of a killer better than Zola can; it is actually a bit frightening. I think Zola might have been Jack the Ripper.

Putting aside my baseless accusations, this was obviously a well written book and as always, he is  keenly aware of the nuances of human behavior. His characterization of the train engine was brilliant and his imagery was unforgettable. I am going to miss that boy.

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

Seventeenth book in Zola's Les Rougon-Macquart series.

My official ranking of Zola's work, from best to worst:

1. Therese Raquin
2. La Bete Humaine
3. Germinal
4. Nana
5. The Drunkard

UP NEXT: The Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy. The last Tolstoy on the List. We really are saying goodbye to a lot of big names as we finish up the 19th century. I'm excited to see what's next!

178. Germinal

Germinal
Emile Zola
1885
Around 550 pages

Old Amanda would have had a stroke over my new reading style. First I read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn without having read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Now I have read books seven, nine, and thirteen out of Zola's Les Rougon-Macquart series. Clearly, I am much more easy going than I was before. *returns to book list I've been obsessively following for eight years*

Germinal tells the story of Etienne, who you may remember as Nana's brother. He is starving and desperate for work, because no one can be happy in Zola's novels. He arrives at Montsou, a bleak mining town, and finds employment as a mine cart pusher. He is almost immediately enamoured by Catherine, another mine worker (once he realizes she is not a boy; due to the poor health of the workers her body is really underdeveloped). Gradually, Etienne develops socialist ideas and leads the workers in a mine strike. Zola spends the rest of the novel outlining why these kind of strikes never work.

I think I read the novel in a much more pessimistic way than perhaps Zola intended. Even the title seems to imply a seed being sown for a better future, but based on the ending I'm a bit baffled by this. In any case, like in any Zola novel, the writing is excellent, the pacing is a bit slow, but the characters are so richly detailed I was reluctant to leave them.

Sidenote: Is it odd that I found the sex scene at the climax of the novel to be one of the most erotic scenes I've ever read? *crickets*

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

13th novel out of Zola's 20 novel series.

Title refers to a month in the French Republican Calendar.

UP NEXT: King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard. I am fairly pumped.

167. Nana

Nana
Emile Zola
1880
Around 500 pages

A little awhile ago I read L'Assomoir, the somewhat forgettable Zola novel about a couple being ruined by drink.  Nana was introduced as their daughter who turned to streetwalking to get by.  I wasn't exactly eager for a L'Assomoir sequel, but I suppose this was somewhat of an improvement.

Nana has been cast as the lead in the opera La blonde Venus.  While she is not very talented, she has a certain "je ne sais quoi" that makes her the toast of Paris.  The rest of the novel details the demise of every single man that pursues her.

Nana had the potential to be a great villainess, like Milady de Winter.  Unfortunately, she was just kind of bland.  Zola never really went into detail about what made Nana so special.  Perhaps he wanted to the reader to be able to project their fantasies on the character, although I think this gives Zola a tad too much credit.   In the end, the novel was just as sanctimonious as L'Assomoir, making this kind of a chore for me to get through.  We sure have had a lot of preachy novels lately.

Two more Zola novels to go!  Why did Therese Raquin have to be so good?  Now everything else is a disappointment.


RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Emile Zola used Blanche d'Antigny, a famous prostitute and actress, as his inspiration for Nana.

UP NEXT: The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James.  This is another one I have read already, so you can expect another post shortly!

161. L'Assommoir

L'Assommoir
The Drunkard
Emile Zola
1877
Around 400 pages

Once again, I hang my head in shame for being away for so long.  I always reread my favorite series every summer.  I have also been cheating on the List a lot.  It's not my fault that the Zola collection at my library sucks.  Anyway, I finally got around to reading this one on my iPad.  While it certainly wasn't terrible, it was definitely a downgrade from Therese Raquin.

Gervaise is abandoned by her drunk and abusive lover, Lantier, leaving her with two young sons and almost no money.  She marries Coupeau, a roofing engineer, and they have a daughter named Nana (uh oh. I can see where this is going).  Gervaise opens her own laundry and all seems right in the world.  That is, until Coupeau falls off one of the roofs he was working on.  During his recovery, he begins to drink and loses all desire to ever work again.   Lantier returns and Coupeau invites him to stay with them because...um...alcoholics be crazy?

I read that this book was taken up by temperance workers across the world as an example of the dangers of alcoholism.  It is easy to see why.  According to this novel, if men get a drop of alcohol in their systems, they start kicking their wives to death.  Apparently Zola claimed his novel was more than just a teetotaler's wet dream.  I suppose you could argue that Gervaise's pride was just as destructive as Coupeau's alcoholism.  Still, it was a bit heavy handed for my taste.  I mean, did we really need to hear about Gervaise's drunk neighbor beating his wife and daughter to death? We could all save some time by just watching The Lost Weekend instead.

It became clear within the first ten pages what direction this novel was headed in, making for a rather predictable experience.  In any case, it's Zola, which means it's well written.  Still, after Therese Raquin I was hoping for a bit more depth.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

The title refers to shops that sell cheap liquor, enabling the working class to drown their sorrows.  The shops were popular in late nineteenth century Paris.

UP NEXT: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.  I have already read this, so you don't have to expect a three month gap until the next post.

138. Therese Raquin

Therese Raquin
Emile Zola
1867
Around 200 pages

What a relief that this novel was only 200 pages, after trudging through The Last Chronicle of Barset for over three weeks.  Our next novel, Dostoevsky's The Idiot, is around 650 pages, so I might have to take a break with some Atwood.  Anyway, this was an absolutely fantastic novel and I am eager to see what else Zola has to offer.

I am hesitant to disclose any details of the plot, since it all seems like spoilers.  Suffice to say, Therese is in a very unhappy marriage with her sickly cousin Camille (yes, this is a man).  She meets Camille's new friend, Laurent, and begins a heated affair.  The two lovers must decide how far they are willing to go to be together.

I found this story pretty fascinating, albeit a bit predictable.  I loved the idea that Therese was content with her existence until she started to read novels that opened up new doors for her.  I wonder if I would be happier without novels?  I shudder at the thought.  Without giving too much away, the entire plot made me wonder: would this scenario actually happen or is it only happening because the reader needs it to happen?  I wish I could make myself clearer.  Damn the no spoiler rule that I made up and only I enforce.

Overall, a great read.  Sorry for the vagueness.

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

Adapted into a play by Zola.  Also adapted into an opera and a musical.

Louis Ulbach, a critic, called the novel "putrid".

UP NEXT: The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky.  Ugh.