NanaI tried, trust me I've tried. French classics and I never really agreed, so when I read I was assigned a novel by Emile Zola I wasn't exactly jumping for joy. But I promised myself I would give it a go and I did. My determination lasted until page 50 I think. Wading through the flowery language, a plot that takes ages to take off (I am not sure it had actually taken off at the page I gave up on the book), it just isn't for me.
I am sure that if you like this kind of book, you'll love it. I don't mind classics, I love Jane Austen and whatnot, but this just didn't agree with me.
The Beast in Man or Pot-brouile are certainly better and more accessible. Nana is a good work though, perhaps just a bit too wordy for this day and age. Maybe I'm just a Zola fan and francophile, as I have never made it through a whole Dickens or Austin!
Posted at 13:17 - 20.12.07 by theehips
I absolutely LOVED this book - I didn't have a problem getting into it at all. The description of a man who has lived his life with enormous self-possession, who had a streak of coldness in his soul from childhood, suddenly becoming inflamed by Nana and basically losing all semblance of control and respectability is one of the greatest passages in literature - French or otherwise.
Posted at 17:09 - 24.07.09 by kittyfondue
Zola wrote The Drinking Den where Nana first appears, that novel is a masterpiece and is far better that this novel is.
Posted at 19:49 - 30.07.09 by martin
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I agree with your comments on this book. I like French literature and I most definitely like Zola, but this is one of his novels that I just don't find that good. I know this is a popular novel but I don't think it is one of his best, considering the standards of his best works.
Posted at 15:37 - 17.12.07 by martin