Customer Reviews

GERMINAL

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Strengt of drama. We feel the misery of people working in mines; courage and determination even more during the strike.

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."

Why do we have labor laws? Why do we accept nuclear energy and the oil industry? Why did the rich countries become so prosperous? "Germinal" shows you why. Often considered Zola's greatest work, it is indeed a truly epic story skilfully blended with penetrating political and economic analysis, not least of the mixture of motives that push people to stand up for their rights or those of others. Take John Steinbeck's "The Grapes Of Wrath", multiply it by ten or twenty and you won't even come close to this book. Deeply moving, shocking, but ultimately uplifting, for in the wreckage of the miners' crushing defeat after their strike Zola, for once, offers a glimmer of hope. Better to have fought and lost than to have done nothing. The seeds of a new, fairer world have been sown. And one day........

Zola's Germinal represents a sad struggle for the rights of humankind. The oppressed workers find an identity within them and rise up. With the help of a young vagrant, the town at Le Voreaux was able to show the world that the subservient workers were not going to take anymore abuse from their oppressors. The period of this novel fits perfectly into the timeline of history. The industrialization of Europe came without a set table of rules that were equal or fair. Men were forced to work long hours and in terrible conditions. Zola captures this torture within the bounds of his novel. The reader is compelled to feel compassion towards the workers, as they are paid low wages to suffer and die in the coal-mines. The passion within the workers in neatly typed words as expressed through Zola's steady flow of language. Zola creates the darkened attitude of the novel through his imagery and writing. The coal-mines are harsh and cruel, something man has to reckon with, and something man does challenge. Much applause is given to Zola for his brilliant effort in writing such a tragic, yet realistic account of the problems during the industrialization of Europe.

One of the beauties of this book is the utter unpredictablity of the plot and the fortunes of book's characters. Novels too often mark their characters for happiness or tragedy early on. The reader's puzzle is then divining their fate. In Germinal one needn't try -- it's much like life -- too random to make good predictions. And so one relaxes and lets the story take its course.

Writing description for Germinal called for tons of research and was hard work -- something like Melville had to do for Moby Dick. Germinal is richer though -- Zola's characters have more choices and more chances to screw up than Melville's. It's also social history the way it should be written, viz., why people did what they diid,

Having previously read Zola's NANA and THE MASTERPIECE, along with a number of short stories, and enjoyed them thoroughly, I was very disappointed by GERMINAL. Too much agit-prop and not enough psychology. Maybe I found myself identifying more easily with the urban worlds of the other two novels. I must say though, that the opening sequence detailing precisely how coal is mined is fascinating and horrifying in a kind of journalistic way, and the last sequence (I won't give anything away) has an undeniable epic splendor. A lot of the middle is kind of muddled, and the characters are too numerous to really get to know or feel for.

I had to read this book for my 9th grade history class. OK, it shows the society back then... But it is long, boring and disgusting. Please save your time and money. Are you really interested in descriptions of a man's "dead virility" being ripped off?