Gervaise Macquart, a laundress, arrives in Paris from Provence with her lover Lantier, who soon abandons her. She marries a roofer, Coupeau, and for a time the two prosper, raising their daughter Nana and opening their own laundry in the Goutte-d'Or district. After Coupeau falls from a roof and begins drinking at the bar known as L'Assommoir, the family slides into debt and degradation, and Lantier returns to the household. Zola shows alcohol, poverty, and heredity as forces that grind down the family, with long scenes of the wash-house and a wedding feast.
Readers of nineteenth-century realism who want a harsh but sympathetic portrait of working-class Paris will find this a landmark. It belongs to the Rougon-Macquart cycle but stands alone.
Deep and thought-provoking; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Story Seeker. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2014
- Publisher
- Culture commune
- ISBN
- 9782363078452
- Language
- FR
