tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027299943447728658.post1496598843884598365..comments2023-10-10T20:43:00.969-04:00Comments on Books and Chocolate: The Masterpiece by Emile ZolaKaren K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13483190930383406559noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027299943447728658.post-56361325347188237342013-08-15T07:46:26.993-04:002013-08-15T07:46:26.993-04:00"Eventually, I hope to read the entire series...<i>"Eventually, I hope to read the entire series, though I doubt I'll ever read them in order. And some of them are still only available in the Vizetelly translations which are terribly bowdlerized. I'm toying with the idea of taking up French so that I can read them in the original, though that's probably a drastic solution."</i><br /><br />Late to the party (sorry!)... but fear not, Vizetelly is never your only option - decent (unabridged) English texts exist for all 20 Rougon-Macquart novels.<br /><br />Thanks to OUP/Penguin/Hesperus the gaps are closing all the time - in the last ten years we've had excellent modern English paperback editions of Pot-Bouille, The Kill, The Belly of Paris, The Fortune of the Rougons, and now Money is just around the corner - and it hopefully won't be too long before the entire series is covered like this, but in the meantime you still have options.<br /><br />Of the "missing" Zolas (not counting Money), a company named Elek Books undertook fresh, unexpurgated, modern-for-the-time translations of the entire series in the 1950s and second-hand reading copies of those versions are still widely available on online auction sites; the Elek texts are still the best English way to read volumes...<br /><br />4 (La conquete de Plassans - "A Priest in the House")*<br />6 (Son excellence Eugene Rougon - "His Excellency")<br />12 (La joie de vivre - "Zest for Life")<br />20 (Doctor Pascal)<br /><br />(* The Vizetelly version of this, The Conquest of Plassans, is actually not at all bad compared to his other heavily-censored hack-jobs, so if that's all you can find, it's by no means terrible.)<br /><br />There are also two very good English translations of volume 5, La faute de l'abbé Mouret - a direct sequel to vol. 4, so read that one first! - as either "The Abbé Mouret's Sin" or "The Sin of Father Mouret" (avoid the ones titled "Sinful Priest").<br /><br />That only leaves volume 8, Une page d'amour, which I don't think has ever been re-translated into English since the original Edwardian version by CC Starkweather, long out of print but available freely online (and I think there are some opportunistic paperback POD reprints out there). It's one of Zola's "gentler" books and needed no censorship, so while the prose style of Starkweather's translation is rather stilted and old-timey, nothing's actually been left out or bowdlerized as such.Nixonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027299943447728658.post-86433634622302323612013-07-21T08:02:46.349-04:002013-07-21T08:02:46.349-04:00I read this one before I read Germinal. I liked it...I read this one before I read Germinal. I liked it well enough but then I read Germinal and WOW I knew that this one was far inferior. I will probably read Germinal again some day, but not this one. I think my impression of it was similar to yours. It was ok but nothing to write home about.Rebecca Reidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06062252252301802298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027299943447728658.post-85325715660730731832013-04-29T20:47:48.547-04:002013-04-29T20:47:48.547-04:00Zola has been on my mind lately because he keeps p...Zola has been on my mind lately because he keeps popping up in a European class I'm taking. I've never read anything by him yet. I think I'll start with Germinal--it sounds like a page-turner. Shelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18408471966661831444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027299943447728658.post-25826739498566909162013-04-29T09:39:44.118-04:002013-04-29T09:39:44.118-04:00I read The Masterpiece for Zoladdiction too. The o...I read The Masterpiece for Zoladdiction too. The other book I chose was Germinal, which I couldn't put down. Like you, it took me much longer to finish The Masterpiece. At one point I thought I might even abandon it, not because the story wasn't interesting or the pace slow, but because the point from Claude and Christine's return to Paris until Claude's picture being accepted by the Salon was almost too unbearable (I made sure that I only read in the house as I wasn't sure if I would burst into tears).<br /><br />I can't see myself reading The Masterpiece again, but I think I will be drawn back to Germinal which I absolutely loved.The Library Filehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16527116517016583815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027299943447728658.post-36923446957623053502013-04-24T14:55:04.742-04:002013-04-24T14:55:04.742-04:00Ok, you have convinced me! I am going to read the ...Ok, you have convinced me! I am going to read the whole Rougon-Macquar series. I have already downloaded The Fortune of the Rougons (but I will probably also purchase a paperback copy at some point). I am going to read in the order suggested on Wikepedia (rather than in order of publishing date).Ruthiellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03871834571645928819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027299943447728658.post-72707926119839528472013-04-23T16:01:40.965-04:002013-04-23T16:01:40.965-04:00I guess he is sort of negative, but he's makin...I guess he is sort of negative, but he's making a lot of social commentary. I couldn't read him all the time since there are so many trainwrecks. <br /><br />I haven't read Nana but it does sound rather depressing. Of course L'Assommoir was about the downfalls of alcohol and Germinal is about a miner's strike, and they were both downers, but I couldn't stop reading either of them. Karen K.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13483190930383406559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027299943447728658.post-57542100047620368212013-04-22T22:44:17.866-04:002013-04-22T22:44:17.866-04:00I want to read Zola, but have tried and hated what...I want to read Zola, but have tried and hated what I read. I have a copy of Nana and am willing to try again. There seems to be a weird, negative tone to his writing, but maybe it was just me?Anbolynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10080054175904900094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027299943447728658.post-2690434814098180912013-04-22T17:30:19.358-04:002013-04-22T17:30:19.358-04:00I know!! It's so tragic and sometimes painful...I know!! It's so tragic and sometimes painful to read, it's hard for me to describe it as "enjoyed." But I appreciate how good it was and how important. L'Assommoir was the same way. Not what I'd call a fun read, but so well done. Karen K.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13483190930383406559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027299943447728658.post-25725655765644685072013-04-21T16:58:12.949-04:002013-04-21T16:58:12.949-04:00I really enjoyed Germinal, actually enjoy isn'...I really enjoyed Germinal, actually enjoy isn't the right word, I didn't like Therese Raquin quite so much, but I haven't got around to anything else by him. I only have Nana in book form, but might read something on Kindle first. Katrinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18138715309807238198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027299943447728658.post-11568388324712708252013-04-20T08:53:50.125-04:002013-04-20T08:53:50.125-04:00I'm flattered! Therese Raquin was great, and ...I'm flattered! Therese Raquin was great, and I have Au Bonheur des Dames on my TBR shelves as well. I'm going to try and squeeze in one more Zola by the end of the month.Karen K.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13483190930383406559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027299943447728658.post-82291122170305450002013-04-20T08:51:39.374-04:002013-04-20T08:51:39.374-04:00I'll do it right away! Thanks for reminding me...I'll do it right away! Thanks for reminding me.Karen K.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13483190930383406559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027299943447728658.post-83980560238320234312013-04-20T08:51:20.013-04:002013-04-20T08:51:20.013-04:00Most of my Zolas are Oxfords and some Penguins I a...Most of my Zolas are Oxfords and some Penguins I also have a recent translation of The Dream from The Hesperus Press and the Penguin edition of The Earth which I actually had to get from the UK. <br /><br />I thought about Nana as well. Lately I've been thinking about The Ladies' Paradise because it's a sort of sequel to Pot Bouille which was sort of funny -- I keep thinking it'll be a little lighter than Nana. All the books with the Lantiers are so tragic! But then that's Zola. Not expecting any happy endings from him.Karen K.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13483190930383406559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027299943447728658.post-81099830318130995122013-04-20T07:20:17.853-04:002013-04-20T07:20:17.853-04:00I was inspired by your Zola posts last year to buy...I was inspired by your Zola posts last year to buy two of his books that I came across, Therese Raquin and Au Bonheur des Dames - but of course they are sitll on the TBR stacks. Thanks for the reminder!Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17782561487396697870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027299943447728658.post-43034492385016164342013-04-19T22:20:35.001-04:002013-04-19T22:20:35.001-04:00By the way, don't forget to put this post in t...By the way, don't forget to put this post in the linky... :DFanda Classiclithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07642429343958941266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027299943447728658.post-69341440307730877582013-04-19T22:17:25.457-04:002013-04-19T22:17:25.457-04:00I'm with you to feel that The Masterpiece isn&...I'm with you to feel that The Masterpiece isn't as poignant as some of Zola's best (Germinal & La Bete Humaine are my favorites), yet it's still very interesting.<br /><br />So far, I'm satisfied with Oxford Classics edition for Zola, but unfortunately they only published 10 or so from the 20 in the series. <br /><br />Just an idea...as you have read most of Gervaise's children (Etienne, Claude, Jacques), why not continue with Nana? :)Fanda Classiclithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07642429343958941266noreply@blogger.com