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Tuesday, 11 January 2011

ABC Wednesday - Z is for...

Zola...

Zola - not a lot of laughs...

Emile Zola:  19thC French author whose name is synonymous with the literary movement called 'naturalism', whereby the novelist attempted to emphasize the physiological and environmental conditions that determine individual character.  Works include Therese Raquin, Nana, and Germinal.  His books don't make for the most cheerful reading and are probably best avoided if you are feeling the slightest bit low, or in the case of Germinal, if you work down a mine.
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16 comments:

  1. Ellen Whyte11 January 2011 at 08:32

    Didn't like it either. Tried Nana as well which was more nastiness and misery. bleh, depressing man.

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  2. jabblog11 January 2011 at 12:11

    I'll take your advice.

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  3. mrsnesbitt11 January 2011 at 18:11

    Fascinating! ABC Wednesday brings along so many interesting posts. Thanks so much.
    Denise ABC Team

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  4. Sylvia K11 January 2011 at 18:17

    Terrific post for the Z Day, Barbara! I like Zola, but have to choose my times to read -- the middle of our grim, gray, grumpy winter is not the very best time! Hope your week is going well! Enjoy!

    Sylvia

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  5. Roger Owen Green11 January 2011 at 18:37

    Think it might push me totally over the brink. I should avoid!
    ROG, ABC Wednesday team

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  6. Nanka11 January 2011 at 18:43

    The giant Z does keep the books in order!!

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  7. EG CameraGirl11 January 2011 at 19:16

    Thanks for the warning! :)

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  8. Leslie:11 January 2011 at 19:54

    Like Roger, I think my mental state is a tad too fragile at the moment, but I might give him a try later on.

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  9. Reader Wil11 January 2011 at 20:56

    Good advice, Barbara! Emile Zola is a good choice for z, but a difficult read! Have a great week!

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  10. photowannabe11 January 2011 at 21:14

    I remember trying Nana too. As I remember, I didn't get very far. Maybe I will try it again now that there are a few more years of life on me.

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  11. Tumblewords:12 January 2011 at 03:07

    Excellent post -

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  12. Rune Eide12 January 2011 at 11:40

    Maybe best remembered for his stand in the Dreyfuss case today - a very worthy Z!

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  13. Unknown12 January 2011 at 12:23

    Great choice for Z, Barbara. Zola reminds us of miseries and injustices in our world and that is always hard to read.
    HelenMac, ABC team

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  14. Cheryl12 January 2011 at 17:19

    Thanks for the advice. I'm already feeling a bit blue. Maybe a comic read is in order.

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  15. Anonymous13 January 2011 at 18:21

    I've read Terese Raquin, Barbara, many years ago, and still remember those bodies in the morgue! I'm planning on giving Germinal a go (chummed reading with Jenny!), but am waiting until I'm feeling less fragile emotionally! I remember reading David Copperfield while in bed with flu, in my teens. NOT a good idea! I was sure I would share Dora's fate!
    I love the fancy Z! Very classy! Do you have all the letters of the alphabet? :)
    Penny

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  16. Barbara15 January 2011 at 08:02

    Hi Penny, I've never been able to read David Copperfield. I love a lot of Dickens but I just can't get on with that one. Good luck with Germinal, I read it for the Nineteenth Century Novel course, such a bleak book! The other french translation we read was Madame Bovary (or Mad Bovril Woman as she came to be called by us all), can't remember the last time I was willing a heroine to die as quickly as possible, oh yes I can, it was Clarissa in Samuel Richardson's novel of the same name - she took 1300 pages to pop off (but it does have a great villain though). If I want literary gloom I'd choose Hardy over Zola any day, at least that's poetic despair. I only have A and Z in the way of large metal letters unfortunately - don't think the shelves could take any more :O)

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