Germinal: Amazon.ca: Emile Zola: Books

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From AudioFile

This sometimes depressing novel about late-nineteenth-century labor problems in France focuses on the coal mineÐa life of dangerous work, starvation wages, impoverished futures. A newcomer to the labor force attempts improvement through worker resistance, including a strike with unforseen and tragic consequences. Few readers of audiobooks can match Frederick Davidson's remarkable skill, and he needs all of it to cope with French pronunciations and divergent conversations, which require him to distinguish among many characters. Happily, he's equal to the task, rendering this complex, yet worthwhile, novel accessible to all listeners. T.H. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

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Introduction by F. W. J. Hemmings; Translation by Leonard Tancock

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First Sentence
Out on the open plain, on a starless, ink-dark night, a lone man was following the highway from Marchiennes to Montsou,1 ten kilometres of paved road that cut directly across the fields of beet. Read the first page

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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover

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28 Reviews

5 star:		(19)
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4.4 out of 5 stars (28 customer reviews)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Prepare to be overwhelmed, transfixed and destroyed..., Jun 4 1998

By	derekrob@sol.co.uk (Dundee, Scotland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Penguin Classics Germinal (Paperback)

I was sorry to finish this book. A weekend spent in bed with tonsilitis turned into a weekend never to be forgotten. I was overwhelmed by the bitter beauty of Germinal, transfixed by it's vivid imagery and destroyed by the harsh realism of the character's pitiful yet determined existence. Very much in the Dickens mode, Zola's writing cannot help but move you.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A gut-wrenching and soulful experience., Jan 21 1998

By	Finhill@ix.netcom.com (san jose, calif.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Germinal (Paperback)

It should be illegal for certain books to be translated into film. I pity the person who does not read, who for whatever reason, cannot create in the mind the vivd imagery laid down in this incredible novel. No movie can come close. I was about a third into "Germinal" when, coincidentally, my union of grocery clerks called for a strike. Of course, almost any similarity between the well-fed and well-compensated clerk of today and the starving, wretched lot portrayed in the novel are absurd. The thing that struck me most were the character representations of both the workers and the owners. The stakes were different, but the mood was exactly the same. I saw first-hand, the leaders, the followers, the sabotuers. I saw those who would settle at any price, and those who would hold out at any cost.

Emil Zola was the kind of writer we just don't see anymore. He risked his career and his freedom to help a Jewish army officer unjustly accused. In "Germinal," he created one of the most dismal landscapes ever put onto paper. As research for the book, he allowed himself to be lowered into a mine shaft, so he could understand a little of what the miner felt as he dropped down into the darkness. Surely these were the pits of Hell. Writing about a labor strike is no easy task, especially if the author is wont to take sides, which Zola undoubtably did. The most remarkable thing about "Germinal" is Zola's even-handedness in his characterizations. Neither side is presented as wholly in the right or the wrong. There are quite a few bizarre character twists, such as the owner Hennebeau who winds up in envy of the workers as he realizes the emptiness of his own existence. Few novels are able to convey the brutality of life for the extremely impoverished, and Zola presents it with authenticity and with relish. There are scenes which will remain in my mind for a lifetime. The characters are as real as any that can be found in the world.

No summation, no casual review can even give a sense of the power of this one book. "Germinal" is anything but casual. It haunts me like few books have. If it is entertainment you desire, read "Jurassic Park." If your soul wants to be touched, read "Germinal."

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible Historical Fiction, Dec 31 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Penguin Classics Germinal (Paperback)

This was one of those books I picked up from the bookshelf on my way out the door to catch a plane for a week-long trip. It made the 5 hour lay-over at DIA seem like 5 minutes. I was exhausted the entire trip because I stayed awake in bed with a flashlight into the wee hours of the morning reading. The descriptions and character development are unsurpassed. I also highly recommend the video by the same title - view only AFTER reading the novel. Zola strikes me as the French Dickens. Also fabulous - Zola's THERESE RAQUIN.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Zola Fan
How can one like a bleak story about the haves and have nots in the mining industry in France so much? Read more

Published 13 months ago by Douglas P. Murphy

5.0 out of 5 stars Germinal by Zola
Published in the 1880s, this book was one of a series of
works which Zola created over a 25 year period. Read more

Published on Feb 22 2004 by Joseph S. Maresca

5.0 out of 5 stars French classic.
A very deep and exciting work of a great French classic.

Published on Sep 1 2002 by Boris Zubry

4.0 out of 5 stars Keep in mind I bought this for a class
I bought this for a class, otherwise I would be in my easy chair channel surfing. But regardless, with all the books I had to read for the class this one I really got into. Read more

Published on May 8 2002 by Ivan P. Baotic

4.0 out of 5 stars Unveiling the proletarian's world
This penetrating, almost lurid novel, exposes the brutish life of the coal miner in late nineteenth century France. Read more

Published on Jan 26 2002 by gmwerner

5.0 out of 5 stars "A lament rising from the darkness of Hell"
Reading Germinal is like receiving a hefty punch in the face, albeit in a good sense. I can only imagine what Zola's contemporaries must have thought as they finished it. Read more

Published on Nov 3 2001 by Angry Mofo

5.0 out of 5 stars Probably my favorite novel.
Mind you, I've only read five of Zola's books (I'd be plowing through the rest now, if not for the bane of schoolwork... Read more

Published on Sep 28 2001 by G. Moses

4.0 out of 5 stars an excellent portrayal of this time in history
I read this book after watching the movie in my Modern European History class. At the time, we were studying that particular era in France. Read more

Published on Sep 20 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars Oh my God!!!!!
Well into middle age and a leftist for the last thirty-odd years I don't know how I never found time for Zola. This novel is completely engrossing. Read more

Published on Aug 15 2001 by farmerwolf

5.0 out of 5 stars nasty, brutish, and long
In addition to their renowned pievishness, the French are expert pessimists. Indeed, they have raised pride, scorn, and sarcasm to such high art. Read more

Published on April 16 2001 by Robert J. Crawford

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