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Thérèse Raquin
«... pretendí estudiar temperamentos y no caracteres. En eso consiste el libro en su totalidad. Escogí personajes sometidos por completo a la soberanía de los nervios y la sangre, privados de libre arbitrio, a quienes las fatalidades de la carne conducen a rastras a cada uno de los trances de su existencia. Thérèse y Laurent son animales irracionales humanos, ni más ni menos. Intenté seguir, paso a paso, en esa animalidad, el rastro de la sorda labor de las pasiones, los impulsos del instinto, los trastornos mentales consecutivos a una crisis nerviosa.» Así presentaba Émile Zola Thérèse Raquin (1867), su cuarta novela y la primera en la que toma forma literaria el ideario naturalista.
A partir de un trágico suceso ampliamente comentado en la prensa de la época, esta historia de pasión ineluctable, adulterio, asesinato y remordimiento en una oscura mercería del pasadizo de Le Pont-Neuf, escrita con «una meta científica» y desatendiendo a la moral, cosechó sin embargo para su autor más acerbas recriminaciones de los moralistas, incapaces de ver que «cada uno de los capítulos es el estudio de un caso fisiológico peculiar». Pero instauró, al mismo tiempo, un modelo novelístico que habría de presidir, en Europa y América, más de cincuenta años de imperecedera literatura.
Émile Zola nació en París en 1840. Hijo de un ingeniero italiano que murió cuando él apenas tenía siete años, nunca fue muy brillante en los estudios, trabajó durante un tiempo en la administración de aduanas, y a los veintidós años se hizo cargo del departamento de publicidad del editor Hachette. Gracias a este empleo conoció a la sociedad literaria del momento y empezó a escribir.
Thérèse Raquin (1867) fue su primera novela «naturalista», que él gustaba de definir como «un trozo de vida». En 1871, La fortuna de los Rougon inició el ciclo de Los Rougon-Macquart, una extensa «novela experimental» cuyo propósito era trazar la «historia natural y social de una familia en el Segundo Imperio»; a este ciclo pertenecen veinte novelas, entre ellas La caída del abate Mouret (1875), L’Assomoir (1877), Nana (1880), El Paraíso de las Damas (1883) y El doctor Pascal (1893). Zola seguiría posteriormente con el sistema de ciclos con las novelas que componen Las tres ciudades (1894-97) y Los cuatro Evangelios (1899-1902).
En 1897 su célebre intervención en el caso Dreyfuss le valió un procesoy el exilio. Murió en París en 1902
328 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1867
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About the author
Émile Zola
2,779 books4,538 followersÉmile Zola was a prominent French novelist, journalist, and playwright widely regarded as a key figure in the development of literary naturalism. His work profoundly influenced both literature and society through its commitment to depicting reality with scientific objectivity and exploring the impact of environment and heredity on human behavior. Born and raised in France, Zola experienced early personal hardship following the death of his father, which deeply affected his understanding of social and economic struggles—a theme that would later permeate his writings.
Zola began his literary career working as a clerk for a publishing house, where he developed his skills and cultivated a passion for literature. His early novels, such as Thérèse Raquin, gained recognition for their intense psychological insight and frank depiction of human desires and moral conflicts. However, it was his monumental twenty-volume series, Les Rougon-Macquart, that established his lasting reputation. This cycle of novels offered a sweeping examination of life under the Second French Empire, portraying the lives of a family across generations and illustrating how hereditary traits and social conditions shape individuals’ destinies. The series embodies the naturalist commitment to exploring human behavior through a lens informed by emerging scientific thought.
Beyond his literary achievements, Zola was a committed social and political activist. His involvement in the Dreyfus Affair is one of the most notable examples of his dedication to justice. When Captain Alfred Dreyfus was wrongfully accused and convicted of treason, Zola published his famous open letter, J’Accuse…!, which condemned the French military and government for corruption and anti-Semitism. This act of courage led to his prosecution and temporary exile but played a crucial role in eventual justice for Dreyfus and exposed deep divisions in French society.
Zola’s personal life was marked by both stability and complexity. He married Éléonore-Alexandrine Meley, who managed much of his household affairs, and later had a long-term relationship with Jeanne Rozerot, with whom he fathered two children. Throughout his life, Zola remained an incredibly prolific writer, producing not only novels but also essays, plays, and critical works that investigated the intersections between literature, science, and society.
His legacy continues to resonate for its profound impact on literature and for his fearless commitment to social justice. Zola’s work remains essential reading for its rich narrative detail, social critique, and pioneering approach to the realistic portrayal of human life. His role in the Dreyfus Affair stands as a powerful example of the intellectual’s responsibility to speak truth to power.
Zola began his literary career working as a clerk for a publishing house, where he developed his skills and cultivated a passion for literature. His early novels, such as Thérèse Raquin, gained recognition for their intense psychological insight and frank depiction of human desires and moral conflicts. However, it was his monumental twenty-volume series, Les Rougon-Macquart, that established his lasting reputation. This cycle of novels offered a sweeping examination of life under the Second French Empire, portraying the lives of a family across generations and illustrating how hereditary traits and social conditions shape individuals’ destinies. The series embodies the naturalist commitment to exploring human behavior through a lens informed by emerging scientific thought.
Beyond his literary achievements, Zola was a committed social and political activist. His involvement in the Dreyfus Affair is one of the most notable examples of his dedication to justice. When Captain Alfred Dreyfus was wrongfully accused and convicted of treason, Zola published his famous open letter, J’Accuse…!, which condemned the French military and government for corruption and anti-Semitism. This act of courage led to his prosecution and temporary exile but played a crucial role in eventual justice for Dreyfus and exposed deep divisions in French society.
Zola’s personal life was marked by both stability and complexity. He married Éléonore-Alexandrine Meley, who managed much of his household affairs, and later had a long-term relationship with Jeanne Rozerot, with whom he fathered two children. Throughout his life, Zola remained an incredibly prolific writer, producing not only novels but also essays, plays, and critical works that investigated the intersections between literature, science, and society.
His legacy continues to resonate for its profound impact on literature and for his fearless commitment to social justice. Zola’s work remains essential reading for its rich narrative detail, social critique, and pioneering approach to the realistic portrayal of human life. His role in the Dreyfus Affair stands as a powerful example of the intellectual’s responsibility to speak truth to power.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,391 reviews
December 4, 2013
You don't need another Coca Cola
Or the latest Francis Ford Coppola
You don't need a holiday in Angola
You need this novel by Emile Zola
It's raw like a bad case of ebola
It's atomic like gay enola
Not pretty like a gladiola
Or sweet like a tune from a old victrola
He told the truth like the Ayatollah
He was revolutionary like Hizbollah
He never needed no payola
He didn't have a Motorola
He wrote the truth, he was Emile Zola
Like a panel he was solar
Nineteenth century rock and roller
He put Balzac back in his baby stroller
And this ain't no litcrit hyperbola
Or the latest Francis Ford Coppola
You don't need a holiday in Angola
You need this novel by Emile Zola
It's raw like a bad case of ebola
It's atomic like gay enola
Not pretty like a gladiola
Or sweet like a tune from a old victrola
He told the truth like the Ayatollah
He was revolutionary like Hizbollah
He never needed no payola
He didn't have a Motorola
He wrote the truth, he was Emile Zola
Like a panel he was solar
Nineteenth century rock and roller
He put Balzac back in his baby stroller
And this ain't no litcrit hyperbola
September 17, 2011
You know how it is. Your mother marries you to your sexless cousin and in silent defiance you enter a torrid affair with a peasant painter. All those hours spent humouring the dull man in your dreary shop, waiting for your next animalistic tussle with your fiery lover. Then one day, you realise the conventions of early 19thC society are going to prevent you from ditching the boring old blood tie, and you will never be free to give yourself to true love.
God, the boredom! I mean, you can’t even knit properly, can you? That last cardigan was missing an armhole and wasn’t even big enough for my nephew! So what do you have to live for? You are, after all, a docile little mouse brimming with despair and desperation whose only chance at happiness lies in the arms of a bone-idle gadabout who only wanted a quick shag anyway. Perhaps if he bumped off your other half, made it look like an accident?
Oh now you’ve gone and done it. Didn’t I warn you watching your husband drown would come back to haunt you? How do you expect to look your mother in the eye ever again, you dozy bint? Well. I suppose it’ll have to be several years of mental torment, depression and unrelenting misery, followed by a teary confession to your paralysed mother, until someone finally pours you a cup of poison and ends your sorry lot once and for all.
Hold out, there’s hope. But not in this book.
God, the boredom! I mean, you can’t even knit properly, can you? That last cardigan was missing an armhole and wasn’t even big enough for my nephew! So what do you have to live for? You are, after all, a docile little mouse brimming with despair and desperation whose only chance at happiness lies in the arms of a bone-idle gadabout who only wanted a quick shag anyway. Perhaps if he bumped off your other half, made it look like an accident?
Oh now you’ve gone and done it. Didn’t I warn you watching your husband drown would come back to haunt you? How do you expect to look your mother in the eye ever again, you dozy bint? Well. I suppose it’ll have to be several years of mental torment, depression and unrelenting misery, followed by a teary confession to your paralysed mother, until someone finally pours you a cup of poison and ends your sorry lot once and for all.
Hold out, there’s hope. But not in this book.
January 29, 2026
4⭐️ for now, but this might change the more I think about it.
One of my 2026 goals is to read at least one classic each month, and this was a strong one to start with. Originally published in 1867, I can only imagine how scandalous this novel must have been in its day.
Thérèse is bored by her life and trapped in a loveless marriage to her sickly, egotistical cousin Camille when she begins a torrid affair with Laurent, an old friend of her husband’s who longs for a life of idleness and pleasure.
Convinced that Camille stands in the way of their true happiness, they commit a crime that ultimately comes back to haunt them.
This story is quite dark and has teeth, and the writing is excellent, with vivid descriptions that make it easy to picture the events unfolding as you read. It feels surprisingly current despite having been written more than 100 years ago.
Thérèse Raquin is a shocking tale of lust, adultery, and ego that spirals into madness, serving as a cautionary reminder to be careful what you wish for.
TW for my fellow animal lovers: There is one brief passage involving a cat that can easily be skipped, which is what I did.
One of my 2026 goals is to read at least one classic each month, and this was a strong one to start with. Originally published in 1867, I can only imagine how scandalous this novel must have been in its day.
Thérèse is bored by her life and trapped in a loveless marriage to her sickly, egotistical cousin Camille when she begins a torrid affair with Laurent, an old friend of her husband’s who longs for a life of idleness and pleasure.
Convinced that Camille stands in the way of their true happiness, they commit a crime that ultimately comes back to haunt them.
This story is quite dark and has teeth, and the writing is excellent, with vivid descriptions that make it easy to picture the events unfolding as you read. It feels surprisingly current despite having been written more than 100 years ago.
Thérèse Raquin is a shocking tale of lust, adultery, and ego that spirals into madness, serving as a cautionary reminder to be careful what you wish for.
TW for my fellow animal lovers: There is one brief passage involving a cat that can easily be skipped, which is what I did.
April 4, 2024
This is the kind of book you survive, an obstacle course for masochists , the only people who will truly love it, don't get me wrong a very talented writer in his first important novel shows his skill, but he has a tendency to wallow in misery, giving a reader too many painful scenes. Zola believes, to be taken seriously , he needs to inflict the maximum pain, a simple murder case becomes a protracted story even though a short novel, it seems an eternity...Critics called the book pornographic when published in 1867, ( mild by today's standards, if there are any) thus becoming a bestseller and making Zola at 27 a famous author. Now to begin; a couple that have known each other from childhood get married, not very unusual, this being the 19th century, still not shocking either because they are cousins. Therese is born in North Africa, her father is a French soldier there, a child from a native woman, no marriage, the mother dies, he a French captain in the army of conquest, brings the baby to his sister Madame Raquin in France, a widow, quickly leaves and goes back to Africa, to fight wars, years pass nothing is heard about the captain until he perishes there. Madame grows to love Therese, treats her like a daughter, a quiet girl that keeps her hate hidden deep inside , she has a sickly son the old woman, Camille does, a small pale figure illness keeps him mostly in bed, which the children share together. Therese feels revulsion toward her ghastly cousin but silent, causing no trouble, the only thing she enjoys is watching the Seine river flow by. Madame sells her little store in the country and to Paris she travels. Soon opens another dingy little shop in a dark alley that connects two important streets. Small shops with trinkets, hats and toys, cheap merchandise sold to poor working class pedestrians going by. Madame persuades Therese to become her son's wife, Therese doesn't abject, she just requires a place to live, the security of a home. Her husband, works as a clerk, brings home his best friend, Laurent, a strong, big man from a peasant family, a fellow clerk at work. Well before long Laurent and Therese begin to notice each other and like what they see ..the woman thinks Laurent is a real man, he would enjoy having a mistress, for a brief time, nothing to lose . A secret affair starts and life would be perfect if Camille wasn't around...permanently. Some calls this a story of "sin, murder and revenge", as two human animals ( Zola's words ) do what comes naturally.
June 27, 2022
A la tercera va la perdida, una pena después de las maravillosas lecturas que fueron Germinal y Nana. Y eso que la cosa no pudo empezar mejor. Me parecía estar leyendo una de esas novelas duras de Simenon donde el autor recrea de esa forma tan genial exasperantes atmósferas en torno a personas anodinas, sin carácter, como animalillos que la vida maneja a su antojo, que nos inducen a esperar lo peor de ellas…
“…mostraba siempre un humor uniforme y acomodaticio; ponía toda su voluntad en hacer de sí un instrumento pasivo, de complacencia y abnegación sumas.”… personas en las que de pronto se desbordan unas emociones de las que nadie les creyó capaces y que llegado el momento fatal les es imposible controlar ni les quedan fuerzas para postergar unos deseos que sienten de forma tan imperiosa.
“En lo que a ella se refería, hallaba una amarga voluptuosidad en el hecho de engañar a Camille y a la señora Raquin; no se holgaba, como Laurent, en una rudimentaria satisfacción de sus deseos, inconsciente del deber; sabía que estaba cometiendo una mala acción y le entraban feroces deseos de levantarse de la mesa y besar a Laurent con todas sus ganas para que su marido y su tía viesen que no era un animal doméstico y que tenía un amante.”Todo iba bien, realmente muy bien, en este camino sórdido y fuertemente inclinado hacia una amoralidad que era más un desquite rabioso que una oportunidad de placer.
“¡Ay, cómo estaba engañando a aquella buena gente y qué feliz la hacía engañarla con tan triunfal desvergüenza!”Y esto fue el primer tercio del libro. El resto fue un tedioso rumiar la culpa que se extendió a lo largo de los dos tercios restantes. Hasta tal punto llegó a aburrime que pocó faltó para calificarla solo con dos estrellas, pero dada la simpatía que siento por el autor y lo que disfruté de ese primer tercio de la novela al final cedí.
Un último apunte. A pesar la larguísima penitencia que sufren los dos protagonistas, la crítica de la época se ensañó con la novela tachándola de obscena por reflejar de forma tan explícita las pasiones y el comportamiento vil de los personajes (también se dice que es la obra inaugural del estilo naturalista del autor y ya se sabe que los comienzos no son nunca fáciles). Tanto es así, que el autor sintió la necesidad de acompañar las siguientes ediciones de un prólogo de explicación y réplica. No deja de ser curiosa esa reprobación pública, pues es tal el ensañamiento del autor con los personajes y su obsesivo remordimiento, es tal el autocastigo, que el comportamiento previo queda claramente postergado a un segundo plano.
July 15, 2021
پنج ستاره را به متن فارسی کتاب میدهم. داستان خود کتاب در حد سه یا چهار ستاره است و به نظرم، برای خوانندة امروزی بیشتر از لحاظ تاریخ ادبیات اهمیت دارد، ولی با این ترجمة فارسی، خواندنش تبدیل میشود به لذت مطالعة یک اثر فاخر ادبی، که میشود به جای اصل روایت، یا در کنار آن، از اجزایش (زبان، شیوة توصیفات و...) لذت برد. مهمترین نقاط قوت کار مترجم به نظرم اینها هستند: 1) نحو فارسی جملات که باعث روانی و آسانخوانی میشود؛ 2) انتخاب معادلهای دقیق که کاملاً با بافت و ماجرا تناسب دارند. این کار خیلی سختی است، بهخصوص هنگام ترجمة توصیف احساسات، که در این کتاب هم فراوان به چشم میخورد. «حسرت»، «دلتنگی»، «ملال»، «غم»، «افسردگی» و بسیاری کلمات مترادف دیگر شاید در نگاه اول هممعنی به نظر برسند، ولی اگر در متن به اشتباه به جای یکدیگر به کار بروند، به شکلی نامحسوس خواننده را گیج و خسته و دلزده میکنند. این احساس در هیچ کجای کتاب به من دست نداد و به نظرم همه جا دقیقترین معادل انتخاب شده بود که کاملاً با حالات روحی قهرمانان همخوانی داشت؛ 3) دوری از کلمات دمدستی و پرکاربرد و کلیشهای، که باعث میشود متن تشخّص ادبی پیدا کند؛ 4) پرهیز از کلمات و تعبیرات «رمانتیک» برای متنی که باید شاعرانگیِ «ناتورالیستی» داشته باشد و به جای آنکه خواننده را در رویاپردازیهای آنجهانی غرق کند، مدام او را روی زمین و پلشتیهای آن نگه میدارد
خلاصه آنکه با این ترجمة فارسی واقعاً میشود ناتورالیسم فرانسوی را درک کرد
خلاصه آنکه با این ترجمة فارسی واقعاً میشود ناتورالیسم فرانسوی را درک کرد
June 13, 2018
Smiling!
Realising the inappropriate reaction to my second reading of Zola's early duel with murderous passion, I try to look concerned or appalled or just plain disgusted, like his contemporary audience.
In his preface, he complains about the critics hating the novel for all the wrong reasons. And now I begin to think I might be loving it for all the wrong reasons instead.
Zola claims to have looked at the strong and passionate reaction of two lovers killing an inconvenient husband with the eyes of a medical doctor, objectively describing their brutal behaviour and their lack of ethical responses the "way they naturally are, guided purely by their flesh, their corporal desires":
"J'ai simplement fait sur deux corps vivants ce que les chirurgiens font sur les cadavres."
He bitterly rejects the critics who denounce the characters' depravation without understanding why the author chose to show them like that.
All very well.
I was prepared for a naturalistic analysis of murderers and their sexual motives, and a dull description of a non-existent conscience. But just like I wasn't prepared for the wildness of Wuthering Heights when I reread it recently, I wasn't expecting the ghost story that Zola tries to sell as a serious case study either.
Laurent, the lover of Thérèse, kills her husband Camille in order to enjoy the convenience of a legal sex life and a comfortable financial status. While pushing the resisting friend into a river from a boat, he receives a bite on his neck, which remains as a scar and a "bite of conscience" - "ein Gewissensbiss" it is quite literally in German.
Instead of living happily ever after the perfect crime, the lovers turned spouses spiral into grotesque madness and evil, suffering through their lives with the image of the victim, before engaging in a final danse macabre in front of the murdered Camille's paralysed mother. In death, they unite with Camille through the touch of the scar.
All very Gothic, all very dramatic, all very symbolic.
All very realistic? Nah!
Despite himself, Zola created an almost religious morality tale of crime and punishment. He took away god from the equation, and put the human body in its place, but the result is the same: the impossibility to shake off sin and to live calmly with a "bad" conscience, be it located in body or soul.
In a way, his draconian writer ego is harsher than most deities, and he strikes his characters where it hurts most: he makes them impotent and incapable of pleasure.
So Zola, my dear friend, I apologise for liking your story for the wrong reasons, and for smiling at your defence of naturalism in this tragedy in several acts, leaving all protagonists dead by murder or suicide in the final showdown on stage.
Recommended - probably for the wrong reasons!
Realising the inappropriate reaction to my second reading of Zola's early duel with murderous passion, I try to look concerned or appalled or just plain disgusted, like his contemporary audience.
In his preface, he complains about the critics hating the novel for all the wrong reasons. And now I begin to think I might be loving it for all the wrong reasons instead.
Zola claims to have looked at the strong and passionate reaction of two lovers killing an inconvenient husband with the eyes of a medical doctor, objectively describing their brutal behaviour and their lack of ethical responses the "way they naturally are, guided purely by their flesh, their corporal desires":
"J'ai simplement fait sur deux corps vivants ce que les chirurgiens font sur les cadavres."
He bitterly rejects the critics who denounce the characters' depravation without understanding why the author chose to show them like that.
All very well.
I was prepared for a naturalistic analysis of murderers and their sexual motives, and a dull description of a non-existent conscience. But just like I wasn't prepared for the wildness of Wuthering Heights when I reread it recently, I wasn't expecting the ghost story that Zola tries to sell as a serious case study either.
Laurent, the lover of Thérèse, kills her husband Camille in order to enjoy the convenience of a legal sex life and a comfortable financial status. While pushing the resisting friend into a river from a boat, he receives a bite on his neck, which remains as a scar and a "bite of conscience" - "ein Gewissensbiss" it is quite literally in German.
Instead of living happily ever after the perfect crime, the lovers turned spouses spiral into grotesque madness and evil, suffering through their lives with the image of the victim, before engaging in a final danse macabre in front of the murdered Camille's paralysed mother. In death, they unite with Camille through the touch of the scar.
All very Gothic, all very dramatic, all very symbolic.
All very realistic? Nah!
Despite himself, Zola created an almost religious morality tale of crime and punishment. He took away god from the equation, and put the human body in its place, but the result is the same: the impossibility to shake off sin and to live calmly with a "bad" conscience, be it located in body or soul.
In a way, his draconian writer ego is harsher than most deities, and he strikes his characters where it hurts most: he makes them impotent and incapable of pleasure.
So Zola, my dear friend, I apologise for liking your story for the wrong reasons, and for smiling at your defence of naturalism in this tragedy in several acts, leaving all protagonists dead by murder or suicide in the final showdown on stage.
Recommended - probably for the wrong reasons!
September 10, 2021
What happens when a married woman and her lover conspire to murder her husband so they can be together?
Do they live happily ever after?
Ha! Yeah, right.
A short, easy classic with a touch of smut, a dash of murder, and a couple of repulsive characters who I almost felt sorry for in the end.
Do they live happily ever after?
Ha! Yeah, right.
A short, easy classic with a touch of smut, a dash of murder, and a couple of repulsive characters who I almost felt sorry for in the end.
April 12, 2024
Thérèse Raquin is another version of the age-old story of love, lust, adultery, and murder. Yet, Émile Zola's presentation of the story of this theme stands apart from the ordinary stories that have touched the same theme. The reason is that Zola's rendition exceeds the characteristics of a story and makes it a study. Zola's own words make it clear: "In Thérèse Raquin I set out to study temperament, not character. That sums up the whole book. I chose protagonists who were supremely dominated by their nerves and their blood, deprived of free will and drawn into every action of their lives by the predetermined lot of their flesh".
Zola's study presents to us the psychological and physiological trauma of two people who have committed a heinous crime. Instead of reaping the fruit of happiness and tranquility which they hoped to gain, they are tormented constantly by the thought of their crime and haunted by the images of their victim which drive them to the point of madness. With their cunning and through play-acting they evade the law, but nothing can alleviate the mental and physical agonies that are set in motion by their crime. Zola stresses that his story is only a physiological and psychological study exempting the conscience. "The love between my two heroes is the satisfaction of a need; the murder that they commit is the outcome of their adultery, an outcome that they accept as wolves accept the killing of a sheep; and finally, what I have been compelled to call their ‘remorse’, consists in a simple organic disruption, a revolt of the nervous system when it has been stretched to breaking point.". When Zola describes the state of the male counterpart of the crime he says that "His remorse was purely physical. His conscience played no part in his terror". This is what makes this work unique. The remorse of the criminals doesn't arise from any guilty conscience, nor from repentance. It only arises from a selfish feeling of having being deprived of their happiness and tranquility. Until Thérèse Raquin, I cannot recall reading a book which talks of remorse devoid of conscience. It was fascinating as well as disturbing.
Zola's writing is the key feature here. There are only a few characters, and the story is focused on the two protagonists. So, Zola needed to score through his writing. And he has done it superbly. His writing is powerful, intense, and suspenseful. Notwithstanding the grotesque picture the story paints, it urges on the reader towards the end, to learn what retribution is in store for the criminals.
The story is a little far-fetched and at times, unrealistic. But this was done deliberately, for, a fantastic story was necessary for Zola to stress his point. This was a scientific study for him. His naturalistic style produced only a detached and factual observation devoid of any emotion. The overall effect of this combination is to create a darker ambiance and disturbing content. However, as a study, Zola has excelled in bringing out the physiological and psychological changes of two people who have set the course of their own destruction.
Despite the excellence of Zola's writing and the thematic novelty, reading it wasn't a pleasing experience. I was drawn into the story through the power of Zola's writing but at the same time, I couldn't ignore the fluttering of my stomach. Some of the passages were so grotesque and horrifying that I had to go through them with an effort. It's a great work, no doubt, but one suitable for stronger constitutions than me. :)
Zola's study presents to us the psychological and physiological trauma of two people who have committed a heinous crime. Instead of reaping the fruit of happiness and tranquility which they hoped to gain, they are tormented constantly by the thought of their crime and haunted by the images of their victim which drive them to the point of madness. With their cunning and through play-acting they evade the law, but nothing can alleviate the mental and physical agonies that are set in motion by their crime. Zola stresses that his story is only a physiological and psychological study exempting the conscience. "The love between my two heroes is the satisfaction of a need; the murder that they commit is the outcome of their adultery, an outcome that they accept as wolves accept the killing of a sheep; and finally, what I have been compelled to call their ‘remorse’, consists in a simple organic disruption, a revolt of the nervous system when it has been stretched to breaking point.". When Zola describes the state of the male counterpart of the crime he says that "His remorse was purely physical. His conscience played no part in his terror". This is what makes this work unique. The remorse of the criminals doesn't arise from any guilty conscience, nor from repentance. It only arises from a selfish feeling of having being deprived of their happiness and tranquility. Until Thérèse Raquin, I cannot recall reading a book which talks of remorse devoid of conscience. It was fascinating as well as disturbing.
Zola's writing is the key feature here. There are only a few characters, and the story is focused on the two protagonists. So, Zola needed to score through his writing. And he has done it superbly. His writing is powerful, intense, and suspenseful. Notwithstanding the grotesque picture the story paints, it urges on the reader towards the end, to learn what retribution is in store for the criminals.
The story is a little far-fetched and at times, unrealistic. But this was done deliberately, for, a fantastic story was necessary for Zola to stress his point. This was a scientific study for him. His naturalistic style produced only a detached and factual observation devoid of any emotion. The overall effect of this combination is to create a darker ambiance and disturbing content. However, as a study, Zola has excelled in bringing out the physiological and psychological changes of two people who have set the course of their own destruction.
Despite the excellence of Zola's writing and the thematic novelty, reading it wasn't a pleasing experience. I was drawn into the story through the power of Zola's writing but at the same time, I couldn't ignore the fluttering of my stomach. Some of the passages were so grotesque and horrifying that I had to go through them with an effort. It's a great work, no doubt, but one suitable for stronger constitutions than me. :)
December 22, 2023
ترزراکن داستان رابطه میان زنی به نام ترز با لوران مرد روستایی قوی هیکلی ایست که با شور و شهوت شروع شده ، با جنایت ادامه یافته و سرانجام با جنون پایان می یابد . برخلاف دیگر داستان های کلاسیک تصویری که زولا از رابطه میان زن و مرد ترسیم کرده رابطه ای شهوانی و بر مبنای میل غریزی و جنسی ایست . نگاه ریز بین زولا نقش پررنگ غریزه را در پیش بردن داستان به سمت فاجعه نشان می دهد .
شاید بتوان تفاوت کامی و لوران در برآورده کردن نیاز ترز را عامل اساسی در سوق دادن آنان به سمت جنایت دانست ، آنگاه که ترز بازوان بی جان و ناتوان کامی را با بازوان پرزور لوران مقایسه می کند ، گویی که از خوابی عمیق برخاسته است ، او دیگر تنها هوس معاشقه دارد . تماس با لوران نیرومند بر اندام ترز رعشه انداخته . از طرف دیگر لوران هم چهره بی رنگ و روی زن را زیبا و شکفته می بیند . گویی لبها و چشمانش برق می زند و چهره اش هم از شعف می درخشد .
در قسمت دیگری از کتاب نویسنده به زیبایی زندگی جدیدی را که به ترز و لوران تحمیل شده که آنرا زندگی دوگانه نامیده را شرح می دهد ، او در هریک از آن ها دو موجود کاملا متفاوت می بیند ، یکی عصبی و پریشان حال و دیگری موجودی بی حال و فراموش کار . هراسان در تنهایی و آسوده خاطر در جمع .
آنگونه که ناشر کتاب ، فرهنگ معاصر نوشته ترزراکن کلید ورود به دنیای زولا ، درک دنیای اووآشنایی با سبک ناتورالیسم است ، از این رو ترزراکن را می توان کتاب مهمی در باب شناخت زولا دانست .
دوست بزرگوار جناب محمد نجابتی مترجم ترزا راکن هستند، ترجمه ایشان دقیق ، زنده و جاندار است ، مهارت و استادی جناب نجابتی دربرگرداندن روح و توصیفات زولا و همچنین حفظ سبک نویسنده سخت ستودنی ایست .
شاید بتوان تفاوت کامی و لوران در برآورده کردن نیاز ترز را عامل اساسی در سوق دادن آنان به سمت جنایت دانست ، آنگاه که ترز بازوان بی جان و ناتوان کامی را با بازوان پرزور لوران مقایسه می کند ، گویی که از خوابی عمیق برخاسته است ، او دیگر تنها هوس معاشقه دارد . تماس با لوران نیرومند بر اندام ترز رعشه انداخته . از طرف دیگر لوران هم چهره بی رنگ و روی زن را زیبا و شکفته می بیند . گویی لبها و چشمانش برق می زند و چهره اش هم از شعف می درخشد .
در قسمت دیگری از کتاب نویسنده به زیبایی زندگی جدیدی را که به ترز و لوران تحمیل شده که آنرا زندگی دوگانه نامیده را شرح می دهد ، او در هریک از آن ها دو موجود کاملا متفاوت می بیند ، یکی عصبی و پریشان حال و دیگری موجودی بی حال و فراموش کار . هراسان در تنهایی و آسوده خاطر در جمع .
آنگونه که ناشر کتاب ، فرهنگ معاصر نوشته ترزراکن کلید ورود به دنیای زولا ، درک دنیای اووآشنایی با سبک ناتورالیسم است ، از این رو ترزراکن را می توان کتاب مهمی در باب شناخت زولا دانست .
دوست بزرگوار جناب محمد نجابتی مترجم ترزا راکن هستند، ترجمه ایشان دقیق ، زنده و جاندار است ، مهارت و استادی جناب نجابتی دربرگرداندن روح و توصیفات زولا و همچنین حفظ سبک نویسنده سخت ستودنی ایست .
October 4, 2023
White petticoats will never be the same. Cats, too. And card games. . .
Emile, mon cher,
What have you done? Not since Eve has a woman caused as much trouble. Drive a man to commit a murder? That's bad. But the rest? You spill the beans on my sex. You lay us bare as we long to be. You show us in all our flesh and hair. You give sound to our lovemaking. You tell of our "urge to push" a "clenched fist" into a mouth that's not ours. You do all this with four characters (one killed off early), a single setting (in place and time), and the "clear and natural language" that you yourself claim makes "a good novel." And I agree. Wholeheartedly. I loved it!
Je t'embrasse
Gigi
PS I prefer other covers. This is too sad for such a fun book. The nude on the Kindle edition is better. But, this is the one with Leonard Tancock's translation and introduction that I read.
Emile, mon cher,
What have you done? Not since Eve has a woman caused as much trouble. Drive a man to commit a murder? That's bad. But the rest? You spill the beans on my sex. You lay us bare as we long to be. You show us in all our flesh and hair. You give sound to our lovemaking. You tell of our "urge to push" a "clenched fist" into a mouth that's not ours. You do all this with four characters (one killed off early), a single setting (in place and time), and the "clear and natural language" that you yourself claim makes "a good novel." And I agree. Wholeheartedly. I loved it!
Je t'embrasse
Gigi
PS I prefer other covers. This is too sad for such a fun book. The nude on the Kindle edition is better. But, this is the one with Leonard Tancock's translation and introduction that I read.
March 26, 2021
وهكذا تتنباين عدالة الانسان وعدالة الرحمن
لا أعتقد أن أميل زولا كتب تلك العبارة الواردة في نهاية العمل، وإنما هي من إضافة المترجم، لكنها تعبر بشدة عن مغزى العمل؛ تلك العدالة الشاعرية التي تطول كل مجرم في النهاية
الرواية أكثر من رائعة، الفكرة جيدة وتسلسل الأحداث سريع وممتع فلا تشعر بالملل يتسرب إليك في أي مرحلة أثناء القراءة، يعاب عليها أن كل شخصيات العمل بلا استثناء سيئة ولها دوافع اجرامية، وحتى الشخصية الوحيدة الطيبة "كابوش" ارتكب جريمة قتل ودفع ثمن جريمة أخرى لم يرتكبها .. أيضا ذلك المرض الغريب الذي ينتاب "جاك" وتلك الشهوة الغامضة للقتل لم اسمع عنها من قبل، على الأقل بتلك الطريقة .. النهاية الشاعرية أيضا بعقاب كل المذنبين قد لا نجدها في حياتنا الواقعية
بوجه عام رواية جيدة ذات مغزى ومشوقة
لا أعتقد أن أميل زولا كتب تلك العبارة الواردة في نهاية العمل، وإنما هي من إضافة المترجم، لكنها تعبر بشدة عن مغزى العمل؛ تلك العدالة الشاعرية التي تطول كل مجرم في النهاية
الرواية أكثر من رائعة، الفكرة جيدة وتسلسل الأحداث سريع وممتع فلا تشعر بالملل يتسرب إليك في أي مرحلة أثناء القراءة، يعاب عليها أن كل شخصيات العمل بلا استثناء سيئة ولها دوافع اجرامية، وحتى الشخصية الوحيدة الطيبة "كابوش" ارتكب جريمة قتل ودفع ثمن جريمة أخرى لم يرتكبها .. أيضا ذلك المرض الغريب الذي ينتاب "جاك" وتلك الشهوة الغامضة للقتل لم اسمع عنها من قبل، على الأقل بتلك الطريقة .. النهاية الشاعرية أيضا بعقاب كل المذنبين قد لا نجدها في حياتنا الواقعية
بوجه عام رواية جيدة ذات مغزى ومشوقة
June 14, 2024
How beautifully written this was! The portrayal of the characters, their emotions, everything was superb!
“I will kill him, I will kill him.”
Thérèse Raquin is young and beautiful and unhappily married to her sick and selfish cousin Camille.
After meeting Laurent, Camille's good-for-nothing friend , she begins a passionate affair with him. But the couple want more than a clandestine affair; they want Camille out of their way.
Thérèse Raquin is a tale of adultery, murder, repentance and damnation.
At the bottom of their hearts they were afraid. They had leant, so to say, one on the other above an unfathomable depth, attracted to it by its horror. They bent over the abyss together,
clinging silently to one another, while feelings of intense giddiness enfeebled their limbs and gave them falling madness.
“I will kill him, I will kill him.”
Thérèse Raquin is young and beautiful and unhappily married to her sick and selfish cousin Camille.
After meeting Laurent, Camille's good-for-nothing friend , she begins a passionate affair with him. But the couple want more than a clandestine affair; they want Camille out of their way.
Thérèse Raquin is a tale of adultery, murder, repentance and damnation.
At the bottom of their hearts they were afraid. They had leant, so to say, one on the other above an unfathomable depth, attracted to it by its horror. They bent over the abyss together,
clinging silently to one another, while feelings of intense giddiness enfeebled their limbs and gave them falling madness.
October 29, 2022
There are those who will do anything to get what they want, and feel no remorse; there are those who barely try for what they want, fearing the trade-off would be too big a loss; this is a story of those somewhere in between, who will go to the furthest corners of human darkness to realize their dreams, and are then forever haunted by their actions.
This perfect tale works as both a metaphor and as a true exploration of how humans can psychologically break down: it is how “careful what you wish for” is a real warning. It is also a book about two people reeling from folie à deux, forever imprisoned together by a temporary madness. The story’s complexity is within its psychological layers, and I was surprised that Hitchcock never snatched it up for one of his films.
This perfect tale works as both a metaphor and as a true exploration of how humans can psychologically break down: it is how “careful what you wish for” is a real warning. It is also a book about two people reeling from folie à deux, forever imprisoned together by a temporary madness. The story’s complexity is within its psychological layers, and I was surprised that Hitchcock never snatched it up for one of his films.
December 18, 2021
رمان ترز راکینِ زولا، داستانی از شهوت، جنون و ویرانی است که در کوچه پس کوچه های تیره و تار پاریس اتفاق می افتد. قهرمان زن داستان به نام ترزا، زن جوان سرکوب شده و منفعلی است که طبق میل عمه اش با پسر عمه بیمارش کامی ازدواج می کند. هنگامی که ترز با دوست روستایی و خوش بنیه کامی به نام لورن ملاقات می کند، هوس های پر شور و اشتیاق متلاطم بین آن دو ایجاد می شود که آنها را در نهایت به سمت قتل سوق می دهد...
قبل از انتشار رمان ترز راکین در سال ۱۸۶۷، جامعه ادبی پاریس به داستان هایی عادت داشت که از بررسی مستقیم بدبختی، خشونت و هیجانات جنسی اجتناب می کرد. اما امیل زولا به ناتورالیسم علاقه مند بود؛ یک جنبش ادبی که از رئالیسم نشأت گرفت، اما بیشتر به موضوعاتی مانند علم، عینیت، و جبرگرایی (یا این ایده که همه چیز توسط علل از پیش موجود تعیین می شود) توجه داشت. او میخواست شخصیتهایش را با همان عینیت بیطرفی که یک دانشمند یا دکتر ممکن است هنگام مشاهده سوژهها در یک آزمایش از آن استفاده کند، بازنمایی کند. بنابراین از بیان یک داستان بسیار تلخ و زننده در ترز راکین ابایی نداشت. در واقع داستانی آنقدر زننده که عموم مردم را ناراحت کرد. ان روزها زولا به عنوان یک نویسنده غیراخلاقی پورنوگرافی معروف شد، اما این هیاهوی عمومی تأثیری بر او نگذاشت.
زولا در پیشگفتار خود برای ویرایش دوم، اصول رویکرد ناتورالیستی خود را در نوشتن توضیح داد و از آثار خود در برابر اتهامات دفاع کرد. او گفت که این رمان نوعی مطالعه علمی است که اعمال "حیوانات انسانی" را ثبت می کند. اعمالی که بُروز آنها کاملاً توسط "مزاج" تعیین می شود. این دیدگاه تحت تاثیر آموزه های قرون وسطایی طبایع چهارگانه بود که طبق آن زولا اینطور نتیجه گرفت که خلق و خوی "بلغمی" لوران با خلق و خوی "صفراوی" ترز مخالف است و ارتباط آنها باهم منجر به روان رنجوری و متلاشی شدن اعصاب می شود. همچنین زولا به تأثیر محیط تربیتی بر اعمال انسان تاکید داشت که در نوع خود دیدگاهی تازه بود.
با این حال، رمان ترز راکن بسیار فراتر از مفاهیم روانشناختی منسوخ است. با وجود تمام ادعاهای زولا مبنی بر عینیت نویسندگی، چیزی که این اثر را بسیار چشمگیر می کند گنجاندن چیزهای عجیب و غریب و نمادین است. استفاده از عناصر گوتیک و مرموز، یاداور داستان های وحشت ادگار آلن پو است. مانند گربه مرموز داستان که نماد شیطان ، رودخانه تایمز که نماد مرگ و کلاستروفوبیا، و زخم روی گردن که نماد وجدان نهیب زننده هستند.
علاوه بر داستان و سبک شاخص زولا، ترجمه کتاب بزرگترین دلیل برای من بود تا به کتاب پنج ستاره بدهم. ترجمه آقای محمد نجابتی، دقت بینظیر نثر زولا را حفظ کرده و به زیبایی آن جان می بخشد. ترجمه بسیار استادانه و روان ایشان، خواندن رمان را به تجربه ای دلپذیر، لذت بخش و بی نظیر تبدیل کرده است. برای این مترجم خوب کشورمان آرزوی موفقیت روزافزون دارم.
قبل از انتشار رمان ترز راکین در سال ۱۸۶۷، جامعه ادبی پاریس به داستان هایی عادت داشت که از بررسی مستقیم بدبختی، خشونت و هیجانات جنسی اجتناب می کرد. اما امیل زولا به ناتورالیسم علاقه مند بود؛ یک جنبش ادبی که از رئالیسم نشأت گرفت، اما بیشتر به موضوعاتی مانند علم، عینیت، و جبرگرایی (یا این ایده که همه چیز توسط علل از پیش موجود تعیین می شود) توجه داشت. او میخواست شخصیتهایش را با همان عینیت بیطرفی که یک دانشمند یا دکتر ممکن است هنگام مشاهده سوژهها در یک آزمایش از آن استفاده کند، بازنمایی کند. بنابراین از بیان یک داستان بسیار تلخ و زننده در ترز راکین ابایی نداشت. در واقع داستانی آنقدر زننده که عموم مردم را ناراحت کرد. ان روزها زولا به عنوان یک نویسنده غیراخلاقی پورنوگرافی معروف شد، اما این هیاهوی عمومی تأثیری بر او نگذاشت.
زولا در پیشگفتار خود برای ویرایش دوم، اصول رویکرد ناتورالیستی خود را در نوشتن توضیح داد و از آثار خود در برابر اتهامات دفاع کرد. او گفت که این رمان نوعی مطالعه علمی است که اعمال "حیوانات انسانی" را ثبت می کند. اعمالی که بُروز آنها کاملاً توسط "مزاج" تعیین می شود. این دیدگاه تحت تاثیر آموزه های قرون وسطایی طبایع چهارگانه بود که طبق آن زولا اینطور نتیجه گرفت که خلق و خوی "بلغمی" لوران با خلق و خوی "صفراوی" ترز مخالف است و ارتباط آنها باهم منجر به روان رنجوری و متلاشی شدن اعصاب می شود. همچنین زولا به تأثیر محیط تربیتی بر اعمال انسان تاکید داشت که در نوع خود دیدگاهی تازه بود.
با این حال، رمان ترز راکن بسیار فراتر از مفاهیم روانشناختی منسوخ است. با وجود تمام ادعاهای زولا مبنی بر عینیت نویسندگی، چیزی که این اثر را بسیار چشمگیر می کند گنجاندن چیزهای عجیب و غریب و نمادین است. استفاده از عناصر گوتیک و مرموز، یاداور داستان های وحشت ادگار آلن پو است. مانند گربه مرموز داستان که نماد شیطان ، رودخانه تایمز که نماد مرگ و کلاستروفوبیا، و زخم روی گردن که نماد وجدان نهیب زننده هستند.
علاوه بر داستان و سبک شاخص زولا، ترجمه کتاب بزرگترین دلیل برای من بود تا به کتاب پنج ستاره بدهم. ترجمه آقای محمد نجابتی، دقت بینظیر نثر زولا را حفظ کرده و به زیبایی آن جان می بخشد. ترجمه بسیار استادانه و روان ایشان، خواندن رمان را به تجربه ای دلپذیر، لذت بخش و بی نظیر تبدیل کرده است. برای این مترجم خوب کشورمان آرزوی موفقیت روزافزون دارم.
August 13, 2025
ترزراکن،اثری مبهوت کننده برام بود.
امیل زولا،نویسندهی معروف فرانسه در این کتاب به زندگی ملال آور زنی به نام ترز پرداخته است.ترز در زیر بالین عمه اش بزرگ شده و در آخر با پسرش کامی تن به ازدواج داده.
کامی پسری که از همون بچگی مریض بود و همیشه مادرش مراقبش بود.
پس ترز از همون اول چندان احساس خوشبختی نمیکند تااینکه یک روزی...
روایت این داستان برای هممون جدید نیست.ممکنه در فیلم ها و حتی در زندگی واقعی شاهدش بودیم.
زولا در این کتاب به عاقبت اعمال شخصیت ها میپردازه.
کتابی که خیلی آروم شروع میشه و هرچقدر جلوتر میری دارک تر میشه فضای کتاب تیره و تاریک میشه
و زولا جوری اندر احوالات دو شخصیت را توصیف میکنه که نفستون بند میاد حداقل برای من اینطور بود.
و در آخر نویسنده ضربهٔ نهایی رو میزنه.
این کتاب واقعا قابل تامله و خیلی تاثیر گذار بود برام.
امیل زولا،نویسندهی معروف فرانسه در این کتاب به زندگی ملال آور زنی به نام ترز پرداخته است.ترز در زیر بالین عمه اش بزرگ شده و در آخر با پسرش کامی تن به ازدواج داده.
کامی پسری که از همون بچگی مریض بود و همیشه مادرش مراقبش بود.
پس ترز از همون اول چندان احساس خوشبختی نمیکند تااینکه یک روزی...
روایت این داستان برای هممون جدید نیست.ممکنه در فیلم ها و حتی در زندگی واقعی شاهدش بودیم.
زولا در این کتاب به عاقبت اعمال شخصیت ها میپردازه.
کتابی که خیلی آروم شروع میشه و هرچقدر جلوتر میری دارک تر میشه فضای کتاب تیره و تاریک میشه
و زولا جوری اندر احوالات دو شخصیت را توصیف میکنه که نفستون بند میاد حداقل برای من اینطور بود.
و در آخر نویسنده ضربهٔ نهایی رو میزنه.
این کتاب واقعا قابل تامله و خیلی تاثیر گذار بود برام.
June 18, 2020
and here i thought thomas hardy was cruel to his characters...this book doesn't take long to turn into slow torture for crimes committed, and it gets darker and more dramatic until it reaches the heights of opera-vengeance. it's very tempting as a modern reader to question the characters' motivations (why not just leave?? really?? just...leave), but it was high time i read some zola, and i can continue my summer of "missed classics" with confidence.
come to my blog!
come to my blog!
April 22, 2021
Usually when I review a book I try to allot the stars not by the audiobook's narration but by the author's words and content. With this book I am awarding four stars but it is partially due to Kate Winslet's fantastic narration. She is as you must know a famous actress. I strongly believe I would never have been able to imagine the words with the terror and emotion evoked through her reading. She does a fantastic job. In addition, I would have been furious if at every mention of Camille's name it had been improperly pronounced. All the French streets and terms are spot-on; this is an important part of drawing the downtrodden life in the poorer, less affluent areas of Paris where the story unfolds in the latter 1800s.
You are told in the book description that Laurent and Thérèse kill Camille, Thérèse's husband and cousin. It is what happens afterwards that constitutes the true story. This is a psychological drama, not a murder mystery. It is suspenseful, creepy and horrifying. Are you listening? It is horrifying!! At least when it is read by Kate Winslet. She notches up the suspense, the creepiness and the horror until you are sitting on the very edge of your seat. I haven't read a horror book in years; this has given me a good dose, enough to last for at least the next ten years.
In the book description we are also told that Zola "... dispassionately dissects the motivations of his characters - mere 'human beasts', who kill in order to satisfy their lust..." I disagree; there is nothing dispassionate about this book. It is all about emotions and passions, and please note the end of that sentence I quoted. It speaks of humans behaving as beasts, filled with lust. Now that gives the proper feeling of the book.
So read this book if you want a moving study of human emotions, of fear and guilt and what propels some of us to behave feverishly and crazily. Being a horror story, I at the same time find it a bit exaggerated. Not everybody behaves like this, but you get so pulled into the tension that you feel the agony of their guilt. And what about punishment? That is another question delved into. What is the worst punishment - that we allot ourselves or that forced upon us by others? Violence and abuse, which is harsher, the physical or the psychological?
I have read this is also a study of people with different temperaments. This didn't work for me. Thérèse’s aunt, Camille’s mother, is drawn as a sweet loving mother, but I see her as calculating! Laurent's temperament is clear. He is, at first at least, careful and prudent. He is calculating and egotistical, avaricious, just plain wicked. Thérèse, she is drawn as a passionate figure, and yet at the same time devious and secretive. Putting together those two characteristics does not work for me. Usually emotional, passionate people simply cannot hide what they are thinking or feeling. Perhaps under the stress of her evil deed she searches everywhere for absolution and escape. You have to read the story to see where it ends.
I do recommend it, but listen to the audiobook version narrated by Kate Winslet.
You are told in the book description that Laurent and Thérèse kill Camille, Thérèse's husband and cousin. It is what happens afterwards that constitutes the true story. This is a psychological drama, not a murder mystery. It is suspenseful, creepy and horrifying. Are you listening? It is horrifying!! At least when it is read by Kate Winslet. She notches up the suspense, the creepiness and the horror until you are sitting on the very edge of your seat. I haven't read a horror book in years; this has given me a good dose, enough to last for at least the next ten years.
In the book description we are also told that Zola "... dispassionately dissects the motivations of his characters - mere 'human beasts', who kill in order to satisfy their lust..." I disagree; there is nothing dispassionate about this book. It is all about emotions and passions, and please note the end of that sentence I quoted. It speaks of humans behaving as beasts, filled with lust. Now that gives the proper feeling of the book.
So read this book if you want a moving study of human emotions, of fear and guilt and what propels some of us to behave feverishly and crazily. Being a horror story, I at the same time find it a bit exaggerated. Not everybody behaves like this, but you get so pulled into the tension that you feel the agony of their guilt. And what about punishment? That is another question delved into. What is the worst punishment - that we allot ourselves or that forced upon us by others? Violence and abuse, which is harsher, the physical or the psychological?
I have read this is also a study of people with different temperaments. This didn't work for me. Thérèse’s aunt, Camille’s mother, is drawn as a sweet loving mother, but I see her as calculating! Laurent's temperament is clear. He is, at first at least, careful and prudent. He is calculating and egotistical, avaricious, just plain wicked. Thérèse, she is drawn as a passionate figure, and yet at the same time devious and secretive. Putting together those two characteristics does not work for me. Usually emotional, passionate people simply cannot hide what they are thinking or feeling. Perhaps under the stress of her evil deed she searches everywhere for absolution and escape. You have to read the story to see where it ends.
I do recommend it, but listen to the audiobook version narrated by Kate Winslet.
October 23, 2021
تيريز راكان .. قصة خيانة . . . . . التقييم خمس نجوم .
من قلب الواقع يرسم زولا خطوط شخصياته، من وحي الحياة الإجتماعية العادية يخلق شخصياته الموجودة أصلا، ستعرفهم.. وإن لم تعرفهم أكيد ستكون قد سمعت بهم، وإن لم تسمع بهم فهذا مؤكد أنك عرفت أو سمعت عن نماذج قريبة منهم، هذا هو زولا والاتجاه الطبيعي الواقعي في الأدب الفرنسي .
hebergeur dimage
تيريز راكان.. قصّة النفس البشرية عندما تسيطر عليها الرغبة الجامحة والانسياق وراء الشهوة، فتتولد الأنانية وتعمى البصيرة ويسقط صوت العقل والضمير، فيرقص الشيطان طربا .
hébergeur d image gratuit
خيانة تؤدي إلى جريمة.. وجريمة تنتهي بانتحار.
الخيانة :
لابدّ من معرفة أفراد أسرة " مدام راكان "، ونبدأ بالأم مدام راكان .. سيّدة طيبة للطيفة، رقيقة المشاعر وحنونة جدا، تحب ولدها وابنة أخيها بشكل كبير. الإبن كميل .. فتى مدلل مريض الجسد والنفس . أما تيريز فهي فتاة في ريعان شبابها مندفعة قوية، تشتعل نشاطا ولكنّها تظهر عكس ذلك، و هذا التّضاد جعلها تنطوي على نفسها أكثر فأكثر وهذا الانطواء جعل كبتها الداخلي يزيد ويزيد مكونا رغبة جامحة وغاضبة، و هذه الرغبة بدورها ولدت استعدادا للإنحراف، واستعداد لتقبل هذا الإنحراف على أنّه مطلب شرعي لها .. وهذه هي الكارثة.
لا بدّ أيضا من معرفة لوران .. الشاب الذي يمكن أن نختزل نفسيته في أربع صفات : الخمول، الكسل، الشهوة، والأنانية . مما جعله كائنا مقززا لا يرغب إلا بالراحة، النوم،الأكل، الشرب وإشباع الغريزة .
سيدة لطيفة، فتى أبله مدلل، فتاة تشتعل رغبة وشاب شهواني حيواني .. هذه هي مواصفات الجو الملائم للخيانة .
hébergeur d images gratuit
الجريمة :
الحرمان .. ما أشقى الحرمان على قلوب العاشقين .. هذا الحرمان إن لم يكن عفيفا، وكان مقترنا بخيانة وبلهفة إلى المعصية، وبلهفة إلى الخداع، متقدا بنار الرجس والفجور وبعيدا كل البعد عن معاني الشرف، الفضيلة والكرامة .. فإنه سيؤدي إلى السقوط الحتمي، وهنا السقوط الحتمي كان عبارة عن جريمة، جريمة اشترك فيها الحبيبان ،جريمة اشتركت فيها الزوجة لترمل وراح ضحيتها فتى مسكين، ومن ورائه سيدة مسكينة وأم عطوف حنون .
hebergeur image
الإنتحار :
"
خيل للقاتل أنه نسي الجريمة، فهل نسيها حقا ؟
خيل للقاتل أنه أفلت من العقاب، فهل أفلت حقا ؟
خيل للقاتل أنه ظفر بأمنيته ؟ فهل ظفر بها حقا ؟
خيل للقاتل أن العقبة قد أزيلت من طرقه ؟ فهل زالت حقا تلك العقبة ؟ و هل استخلص تيريز لنفس ؟
و هل مات كميل ؟
"
عندما وصل الأمر إلى حدّه انقلب إلى ضدّه، و الأمر هنا هو اجتماع الشهوة الرغبة .. فعند وصول هذا الأمر إلى حدّه وهو القتل .. انقلب وتحول .. فصارت النار بردا و صارت الشهوة جمادا، و صارت القبلة قشعريرة .. وصار الحبيبان عدوان .. عدوان متلازمان لا يستطيع أحدهما فراق الآخر.. و تحوّل الحب إلى خوف وفزع .. ثم إلى اشمئزاز.. ثم إلى التفكير بالتخلص من الطرف الآخر. لذلك كان لابدّ من حل شكلي والحل الشكلي هنا هو مواصلة السقوط إلى القاع .. و الانغماس في الرذيلة .. ثم الحل الفعلي .. و هو الإنتحار .
image gratuite à télécharger
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قال تعالى :
" وَنَفْسٍ وَمَا سَوَّاهَا*فَأَلْهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقْوَاهَا*قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَنْ زَكَّاهَا*وَقَدْ خَابَ مَنْ دَسَّاهَا "
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القصّة الثانية في هذا الكتاب و هي قصّة " الوحش في الإنسان " لم تكن بمستوى القصة الأولى . . . . تقييمها ثلاث نجوم .
من قلب الواقع يرسم زولا خطوط شخصياته، من وحي الحياة الإجتماعية العادية يخلق شخصياته الموجودة أصلا، ستعرفهم.. وإن لم تعرفهم أكيد ستكون قد سمعت بهم، وإن لم تسمع بهم فهذا مؤكد أنك عرفت أو سمعت عن نماذج قريبة منهم، هذا هو زولا والاتجاه الطبيعي الواقعي في الأدب الفرنسي .
hebergeur dimage
تيريز راكان.. قصّة النفس البشرية عندما تسيطر عليها الرغبة الجامحة والانسياق وراء الشهوة، فتتولد الأنانية وتعمى البصيرة ويسقط صوت العقل والضمير، فيرقص الشيطان طربا .
hébergeur d image gratuit
خيانة تؤدي إلى جريمة.. وجريمة تنتهي بانتحار.
الخيانة :
لابدّ من معرفة أفراد أسرة " مدام راكان "، ونبدأ بالأم مدام راكان .. سيّدة طيبة للطيفة، رقيقة المشاعر وحنونة جدا، تحب ولدها وابنة أخيها بشكل كبير. الإبن كميل .. فتى مدلل مريض الجسد والنفس . أما تيريز فهي فتاة في ريعان شبابها مندفعة قوية، تشتعل نشاطا ولكنّها تظهر عكس ذلك، و هذا التّضاد جعلها تنطوي على نفسها أكثر فأكثر وهذا الانطواء جعل كبتها الداخلي يزيد ويزيد مكونا رغبة جامحة وغاضبة، و هذه الرغبة بدورها ولدت استعدادا للإنحراف، واستعداد لتقبل هذا الإنحراف على أنّه مطلب شرعي لها .. وهذه هي الكارثة.
لا بدّ أيضا من معرفة لوران .. الشاب الذي يمكن أن نختزل نفسيته في أربع صفات : الخمول، الكسل، الشهوة، والأنانية . مما جعله كائنا مقززا لا يرغب إلا بالراحة، النوم،الأكل، الشرب وإشباع الغريزة .
سيدة لطيفة، فتى أبله مدلل، فتاة تشتعل رغبة وشاب شهواني حيواني .. هذه هي مواصفات الجو الملائم للخيانة .
hébergeur d images gratuit
الجريمة :
الحرمان .. ما أشقى الحرمان على قلوب العاشقين .. هذا الحرمان إن لم يكن عفيفا، وكان مقترنا بخيانة وبلهفة إلى المعصية، وبلهفة إلى الخداع، متقدا بنار الرجس والفجور وبعيدا كل البعد عن معاني الشرف، الفضيلة والكرامة .. فإنه سيؤدي إلى السقوط الحتمي، وهنا السقوط الحتمي كان عبارة عن جريمة، جريمة اشترك فيها الحبيبان ،جريمة اشتركت فيها الزوجة لترمل وراح ضحيتها فتى مسكين، ومن ورائه سيدة مسكينة وأم عطوف حنون .
hebergeur image
الإنتحار :
"
خيل للقاتل أنه نسي الجريمة، فهل نسيها حقا ؟
خيل للقاتل أنه أفلت من العقاب، فهل أفلت حقا ؟
خيل للقاتل أنه ظفر بأمنيته ؟ فهل ظفر بها حقا ؟
خيل للقاتل أن العقبة قد أزيلت من طرقه ؟ فهل زالت حقا تلك العقبة ؟ و هل استخلص تيريز لنفس ؟
و هل مات كميل ؟
"
عندما وصل الأمر إلى حدّه انقلب إلى ضدّه، و الأمر هنا هو اجتماع الشهوة الرغبة .. فعند وصول هذا الأمر إلى حدّه وهو القتل .. انقلب وتحول .. فصارت النار بردا و صارت الشهوة جمادا، و صارت القبلة قشعريرة .. وصار الحبيبان عدوان .. عدوان متلازمان لا يستطيع أحدهما فراق الآخر.. و تحوّل الحب إلى خوف وفزع .. ثم إلى اشمئزاز.. ثم إلى التفكير بالتخلص من الطرف الآخر. لذلك كان لابدّ من حل شكلي والحل الشكلي هنا هو مواصلة السقوط إلى القاع .. و الانغماس في الرذيلة .. ثم الحل الفعلي .. و هو الإنتحار .
image gratuite à télécharger
*
*
*
قال تعالى :
" وَنَفْسٍ وَمَا سَوَّاهَا*فَأَلْهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقْوَاهَا*قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَنْ زَكَّاهَا*وَقَدْ خَابَ مَنْ دَسَّاهَا "
*
*
*
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القصّة الثانية في هذا الكتاب و هي قصّة " الوحش في الإنسان " لم تكن بمستوى القصة الأولى . . . . تقييمها ثلاث نجوم .
May 1, 2018
Introduction, by Adam Thorpe
A Note on the Translation
Acknowledgments
--Thérèse Raquin
Notes
A Note on the Translation
Acknowledgments
--Thérèse Raquin
Notes
March 11, 2023
Могу смело назвать этот роман одним из лучших Золя. Он прав, говоря, что Тереза и Лоран – животные в облике человека, поступающие по зову плоти. Весь их смысл жизни и ее суть – в лени, сытной еде, сне. Они не наделены интеллектом, но они достаточно целеустремленны в достижении своих целей. В какой-то мере в романе есть сходство между «Преступлением и наказанием» Достоевского, но моральные страдания здесь другого рода. Есть также сходство и с "Леди Макбет Мценского уезда" Н. Лескова. У Терезы и Лорана нет ни капли раскаяния, совесть их не мучает, они не сожалеют о содеянном. Их мучают страхи, призрак убитого, невротическая реакция психики. Золя с необыкновенной эмоциональной силой и глубиной понимания мотивов, движущих героями раскрывает их моральные страдания, от которого не спасает ни притворное раскаяние, ни взаимные упреки и перекладывание вины друг на друга, ни угрозы сдаться, ни разгул и разврат, то наказание, которое падет на их головы от них самих. Золя высмеивает и общество, мещанское убожество и непроходимую ограниченность гостей, которых принимает чета Ракен по четвергам. Остается только сожалеть, что современники не поняли и не приняли роман и, судя по предисловию, подвергли его травле.
October 24, 2022
[3.5/5]
Justo inmediatamente después de haber terminado de leer Thérèse Raquin me quedó un sabor de boca inexplicable, uno de esos sabores que no sabes si al final fue una experiencia que has disfrutado o que te ha dejado debiendo algo. Sin duda lo que no me dejó fue indiferente, como ninguna novela de Zola lo ha hecho, con un sin fin de descripciones muy explícitas y vívidas que te sumergen en la mente de los dos personajes principales de este libro.
Creo que iré directo al grano y diré que el principal problema de Thérèse Raquin es el mismo Zola, ya que no puedo evitar comparar a un autor más que consigo mismo: sin duda, el hecho de haber leído antes su obra maestra Germinal, que sigue estando vívidamente en mi mente, así como mi novela favorita del autor, La taberna, cuya protagonista es totalmente irreemplazable, hizo que mi experiencia leyendo Thérèse Raquin se sintiera deficiente y demasiado repetitiva, tanto que a los dos tercios de la historia ya quería que se terminara (y eso que la novela de por sí es corta).
Sentí como si Zola nunca se cansara de decir que los dos sujetos que protagonizan este retrato de decadencia humana estuvieran perdiendo la cabeza, que estaban sintiendo esto y aquello con respecto a lo que habían hecho; de alguna manera eso queda claro desde los primeros capítulos pero persiste en ello hasta el final. Por otro lado, le aplaudo al autor el hacer que el lector desprecie tanto a ambos personajes, al punto de que uno espera un final que en verdad se merecen, y en mi opinión, lo consigue y logra mostrar el destino de una sociedad descompuesta hasta sus últimas consecuencias.
También leí que esta es la obra que inaugura el naturalismo por el que el autor es tan conocido y aclamado, y debo decir que se nota, sabe a primera obra, y es por supuesto necesario resaltar que ese naturalismo puro lo conseguirá en sus obras de Les Rougon-Macquart, o al menos en aquellas que he leído, donde perfecciona su estilo y te hace vivir, junto con sus personajes, en lo más bajo de la sociedad que uno se puede imaginar.
Como un punto más a recalcar, Zola hace un buen trabajo al entrar en la mente de sus personajes, describir lo que sienten y lo que sufren tras haber efectuado su plan, pero de nuevo, no me convenció del todo ya que al haber leído más temprano este año un clásico ruso, también decimonónico, que en mi punto de vista lo hace mucho mejor, como que estas descripciones de 'la mente humana descompuesta' se me quedaron en medio del camino. A ratos sí que quería que llegara el Zola de La taberna y le dijera a este Zola '¡muévete!, es mi turno de entrar', pero sabemos que eso no iba a pasar.
En resumen, no quiero decir que esta novela es mala, para nada. Es una buena historia, una pizca del naturalismo que nos espera en su inmensa saga, pero nada que merezca tenerla entre sus mejores obras. Quizá si hubiera empezado a leer al autor con Thérèse Raquin habría alucinado —quizá estoy exagerando como de costumbre—, pero ahora es que no me dejó nada que no me hubiera dado ya el autor previamente. Y para terminar de arruinar mi experiencia, el maltrato y asesinato a un animal en esta obra fue demasiado para mí; aún recuerdo en una novela de Willa Cather que leí el año pasado como un tipo dañaba de los ojos a un ave y se divertía viendo como el pájaro se golpeaba entre las ramas tras haber quedado ciego, ¡horrible! Algo así me pasó leyendo Thérèse Raquin, que además no sentí que fuera una escena necesaria para entender la locura del perpetrador, y si ya de por sí le odiaba, a este punto se superó. En fin, deseo que su experiencia lectora sea mucho mejor que la mía.
La naturaleza y las circunstancias parecían haber hecho a esa mujer para ese hombre y haberlos guiado el uno hacia el otro. Formaban ambos, la mujer nerviosa e hipócrita, el hombre sanguíneo y de vida de animal irracional, una pareja a la que unían recios lazos. Se completaban, se protegían mutuamente. Por la noche, sentados a la mesa, bajo el pálido resplandor de la lámpara, bastaba con ver el rostro rollizo y sonriente de [él] frente a la impenetrable y muda expresión de [ella] para percatarse de la fuerza de aquella unión.
Justo inmediatamente después de haber terminado de leer Thérèse Raquin me quedó un sabor de boca inexplicable, uno de esos sabores que no sabes si al final fue una experiencia que has disfrutado o que te ha dejado debiendo algo. Sin duda lo que no me dejó fue indiferente, como ninguna novela de Zola lo ha hecho, con un sin fin de descripciones muy explícitas y vívidas que te sumergen en la mente de los dos personajes principales de este libro.
Creo que iré directo al grano y diré que el principal problema de Thérèse Raquin es el mismo Zola, ya que no puedo evitar comparar a un autor más que consigo mismo: sin duda, el hecho de haber leído antes su obra maestra Germinal, que sigue estando vívidamente en mi mente, así como mi novela favorita del autor, La taberna, cuya protagonista es totalmente irreemplazable, hizo que mi experiencia leyendo Thérèse Raquin se sintiera deficiente y demasiado repetitiva, tanto que a los dos tercios de la historia ya quería que se terminara (y eso que la novela de por sí es corta).
Sentí como si Zola nunca se cansara de decir que los dos sujetos que protagonizan este retrato de decadencia humana estuvieran perdiendo la cabeza, que estaban sintiendo esto y aquello con respecto a lo que habían hecho; de alguna manera eso queda claro desde los primeros capítulos pero persiste en ello hasta el final. Por otro lado, le aplaudo al autor el hacer que el lector desprecie tanto a ambos personajes, al punto de que uno espera un final que en verdad se merecen, y en mi opinión, lo consigue y logra mostrar el destino de una sociedad descompuesta hasta sus últimas consecuencias.
También leí que esta es la obra que inaugura el naturalismo por el que el autor es tan conocido y aclamado, y debo decir que se nota, sabe a primera obra, y es por supuesto necesario resaltar que ese naturalismo puro lo conseguirá en sus obras de Les Rougon-Macquart, o al menos en aquellas que he leído, donde perfecciona su estilo y te hace vivir, junto con sus personajes, en lo más bajo de la sociedad que uno se puede imaginar.
Como un punto más a recalcar, Zola hace un buen trabajo al entrar en la mente de sus personajes, describir lo que sienten y lo que sufren tras haber efectuado su plan, pero de nuevo, no me convenció del todo ya que al haber leído más temprano este año un clásico ruso, también decimonónico, que en mi punto de vista lo hace mucho mejor, como que estas descripciones de 'la mente humana descompuesta' se me quedaron en medio del camino. A ratos sí que quería que llegara el Zola de La taberna y le dijera a este Zola '¡muévete!, es mi turno de entrar', pero sabemos que eso no iba a pasar.
En resumen, no quiero decir que esta novela es mala, para nada. Es una buena historia, una pizca del naturalismo que nos espera en su inmensa saga, pero nada que merezca tenerla entre sus mejores obras. Quizá si hubiera empezado a leer al autor con Thérèse Raquin habría alucinado —quizá estoy exagerando como de costumbre—, pero ahora es que no me dejó nada que no me hubiera dado ya el autor previamente. Y para terminar de arruinar mi experiencia, el maltrato y asesinato a un animal en esta obra fue demasiado para mí; aún recuerdo en una novela de Willa Cather que leí el año pasado como un tipo dañaba de los ojos a un ave y se divertía viendo como el pájaro se golpeaba entre las ramas tras haber quedado ciego, ¡horrible! Algo así me pasó leyendo Thérèse Raquin, que además no sentí que fuera una escena necesaria para entender la locura del perpetrador, y si ya de por sí le odiaba, a este punto se superó. En fin, deseo que su experiencia lectora sea mucho mejor que la mía.
La naturaleza y las circunstancias parecían haber hecho a esa mujer para ese hombre y haberlos guiado el uno hacia el otro. Formaban ambos, la mujer nerviosa e hipócrita, el hombre sanguíneo y de vida de animal irracional, una pareja a la que unían recios lazos. Se completaban, se protegían mutuamente. Por la noche, sentados a la mesa, bajo el pálido resplandor de la lámpara, bastaba con ver el rostro rollizo y sonriente de [él] frente a la impenetrable y muda expresión de [ella] para percatarse de la fuerza de aquella unión.
May 2, 2024
When writing this admirable novel, "Teresa Raquin," Émile Zola stated it was "a great psychological and physiological study." In truth, he had drawn, with a master's hand, the profile of a woman, analyzing her passions, hatreds, strengths, and weaknesses. Perhaps the study of female sensitivity has never led to areas so profound and revealing that they reach the undeniable. "Teresa Raquin" is a highly topical testimony about the condition of women in a sexist society.
March 28, 2016
"The Arcade of the Pont Neuf is not a place for a stroll. You take it to make a short cut, to gain a few minutes. It is traversed by busy people whose sole aim is to go quick and straight before them… The arcade now assumes the aspect of a regular cut-throat alley. Great shadows stretch along the tiles, damp puffs of air enter from the street. Anyone might take the place for a subterranean gallery indistinctly lit-up by three funeral lamps.
This nineteenth century French novel has a deliciously dark atmosphere from page one. The Arcade of the Pont Neuf is home to a mercer shop that will take you into the depths of a psychological drama that might give you chills if you were to read this alone on a bleak and stormy night. Emphasizing the animal side of human nature, Emile Zola created two depraved characters in Laurent and Therese – ones that we should all hope to avoid a glimpse of within ourselves! How do emotions drive one to commit an act of evil? What are the consequences of these actions? If we repent, will we be absolved of our sins? If repentance is not something the bestial self is capable of seeking, then what becomes of us?
This book had some gruesome images that may make some flinch and others may find worthy of a great horror novel. I personally cringed and at the same time was fascinated by a most revolting description of a Parisian morgue. I was shocked to learn that it was in fact a favorite pastime for the people of Paris to visit the morgue and ogle the unfortunate inhabitants of this notorious attraction! "The morgue is a sight within reach of everybody, and one to which passers-by, rich and poor alike, treat themselves. The door stands open, and all are free to enter. There are admirers of the scene who go out of their way so as not to miss one of these performances of death."
I found this book to be quite riveting overall. There were times when it felt a bit repetitive and dragged slightly, but then it would shift and I would once more become submerged in the misery, depravity and psychological suspense. I would recommend this to those that enjoy classics and intense psychological studies. It is actually a very readable classic, so shouldn't necessarily exclude those that don't dip into the classics on a regular basis. 3.5 stars.
This nineteenth century French novel has a deliciously dark atmosphere from page one. The Arcade of the Pont Neuf is home to a mercer shop that will take you into the depths of a psychological drama that might give you chills if you were to read this alone on a bleak and stormy night. Emphasizing the animal side of human nature, Emile Zola created two depraved characters in Laurent and Therese – ones that we should all hope to avoid a glimpse of within ourselves! How do emotions drive one to commit an act of evil? What are the consequences of these actions? If we repent, will we be absolved of our sins? If repentance is not something the bestial self is capable of seeking, then what becomes of us?
This book had some gruesome images that may make some flinch and others may find worthy of a great horror novel. I personally cringed and at the same time was fascinated by a most revolting description of a Parisian morgue. I was shocked to learn that it was in fact a favorite pastime for the people of Paris to visit the morgue and ogle the unfortunate inhabitants of this notorious attraction! "The morgue is a sight within reach of everybody, and one to which passers-by, rich and poor alike, treat themselves. The door stands open, and all are free to enter. There are admirers of the scene who go out of their way so as not to miss one of these performances of death."
I found this book to be quite riveting overall. There were times when it felt a bit repetitive and dragged slightly, but then it would shift and I would once more become submerged in the misery, depravity and psychological suspense. I would recommend this to those that enjoy classics and intense psychological studies. It is actually a very readable classic, so shouldn't necessarily exclude those that don't dip into the classics on a regular basis. 3.5 stars.
March 3, 2025
جنون که رخنه میکند:
زولا نویسندهی بزرگی بود. شاید خیلی بزرگتر از نامی که الان دارد و اگر ژرمینالش را از لیست کتابخوانی اخیر بسیاری حذف کنیم، احتمالا دیگر رد چندانی از او در کتابخانهها نیست. نویسندهای که ناتورالیسم خشن او، تعادل ادبی فرانسه و در ادامه ادبیات جهان را بهم زد. احتمالا اولین نامی بود که برای دریافت نوبل ادبیات به ذهن داوران رسید ولی حاشیهاش بیش از آن بود که که هیئت داوران جرئت اهدای آن را داشته باشند. او کسی بود که مقاله من متهم میکنم را نوشت و موجی از جنجال به پا کرد که بیسابقه بود. در زمانی که ساختن فیلم بیوگرافی خیلی روی بورس نبود، از زندگی او فیلمی ساختند. چخوف او را بسیار دوست میداشت و اگر حافظهام خطا نکند، ایوان ایلیچ در داستان مرگ ایوان ایلیچ، جایی برای عبور از ملال و افکار پریشانش به خواندن رمانی از زولا روی میآورد. حالا دیگر رد چندانی از او در کتابخانههای شخصی نیست. اگر ژرمینالش بنا به دلایلی و به قول اصطلاح روزمره امروزیاش، وایرال نمیشد، حضورش از این هم کمرنگتر میبود. با این همه باید گفت که اگر مولفههای سرگرمیساز آن دوره از آثار را حذف کنیم که برای امروز کمی افراطی و بینمک جلوه میکند، زولا هم عوامل درونی یعنی روانکاوانه و هم دلایل بیرونی یعنی اجتماعی را به خوبی در زندگی پر از لجن پاریس آن زمان موشکافی میکند. داستان ترز راکن او که در واقع بهترین مدخل برای ورود به آثار او است، ماجرای شهوت و جنایت است که در نهایت پای ضلع سوم یعنی عذاب وجدان و مالیخولیای گناه را به آن باز میکند. روند داستان، بیاختیاری و ناتوانی فیلم ملک الموت بونوئل را به ذهن متبادر میکند. زولا شخصیت هایش را در استیصال و ناتوان در یک دایره گناه حبس میکند و به مرور دایره را تنگتر میکند به قدری فضایی برای نفس کشیدن و حتی حضور در آن باقی نمیماند.
با ناتورالیسم زولا موافق باشیم یا نباشیم، در نهایت باید به هنر داستاننویسی او ادای احترام کنیم که حداقل هر حرفی که میخواهد بزند را خوب میزند. اگر در آثار او دقیق شده باشیم، به نظر میرسد که زولا قصد مفاهیم بزرگ را ��ز منظری دیگر به ما نشان بدهد. مانند امید، عذاب، همدردی، جنون و عشق. ترز راکن از این منظر یکی از شاخصترین آثار اوست. با این وجود ایده و پرداخت اثر او برای این زمانه اگر فقط از جنبهی ماجرا بررسی شود، احتمالا کمی تکراری و غیر طبیعی جلوه کند.
زولا نویسندهی بزرگی بود. شاید خیلی بزرگتر از نامی که الان دارد و اگر ژرمینالش را از لیست کتابخوانی اخیر بسیاری حذف کنیم، احتمالا دیگر رد چندانی از او در کتابخانهها نیست. نویسندهای که ناتورالیسم خشن او، تعادل ادبی فرانسه و در ادامه ادبیات جهان را بهم زد. احتمالا اولین نامی بود که برای دریافت نوبل ادبیات به ذهن داوران رسید ولی حاشیهاش بیش از آن بود که که هیئت داوران جرئت اهدای آن را داشته باشند. او کسی بود که مقاله من متهم میکنم را نوشت و موجی از جنجال به پا کرد که بیسابقه بود. در زمانی که ساختن فیلم بیوگرافی خیلی روی بورس نبود، از زندگی او فیلمی ساختند. چخوف او را بسیار دوست میداشت و اگر حافظهام خطا نکند، ایوان ایلیچ در داستان مرگ ایوان ایلیچ، جایی برای عبور از ملال و افکار پریشانش به خواندن رمانی از زولا روی میآورد. حالا دیگر رد چندانی از او در کتابخانههای شخصی نیست. اگر ژرمینالش بنا به دلایلی و به قول اصطلاح روزمره امروزیاش، وایرال نمیشد، حضورش از این هم کمرنگتر میبود. با این همه باید گفت که اگر مولفههای سرگرمیساز آن دوره از آثار را حذف کنیم که برای امروز کمی افراطی و بینمک جلوه میکند، زولا هم عوامل درونی یعنی روانکاوانه و هم دلایل بیرونی یعنی اجتماعی را به خوبی در زندگی پر از لجن پاریس آن زمان موشکافی میکند. داستان ترز راکن او که در واقع بهترین مدخل برای ورود به آثار او است، ماجرای شهوت و جنایت است که در نهایت پای ضلع سوم یعنی عذاب وجدان و مالیخولیای گناه را به آن باز میکند. روند داستان، بیاختیاری و ناتوانی فیلم ملک الموت بونوئل را به ذهن متبادر میکند. زولا شخصیت هایش را در استیصال و ناتوان در یک دایره گناه حبس میکند و به مرور دایره را تنگتر میکند به قدری فضایی برای نفس کشیدن و حتی حضور در آن باقی نمیماند.
با ناتورالیسم زولا موافق باشیم یا نباشیم، در نهایت باید به هنر داستاننویسی او ادای احترام کنیم که حداقل هر حرفی که میخواهد بزند را خوب میزند. اگر در آثار او دقیق شده باشیم، به نظر میرسد که زولا قصد مفاهیم بزرگ را ��ز منظری دیگر به ما نشان بدهد. مانند امید، عذاب، همدردی، جنون و عشق. ترز راکن از این منظر یکی از شاخصترین آثار اوست. با این وجود ایده و پرداخت اثر او برای این زمانه اگر فقط از جنبهی ماجرا بررسی شود، احتمالا کمی تکراری و غیر طبیعی جلوه کند.
September 5, 2018
This short novel (the weakest of the four Zola's I have read so far) is a tale of lust, madness and destruction set within the brooding, dingy backstreets of Paris. Not the back streets I know and love of today!. The eponymous protagonist, a repressed and silently resentful young woman is married off, as per normal, according to her aunt's wishes to her sickly cousin Camille. When Thérèse meets Camille's robust and earthy friend Laurent, a turbulent passion is unleashed that drives them ultimately to violence and murder. Considering this is a 19th century novel, it really packs a punch, and does shock. Nothing like the period drama style novels of his countless counterparts. The characters are excellently done, but not exactly likeable, and the whole atmosphere is conceived really well. Zola's great story-telling qualities put him above most French writers of the time, but, at best, I found Thérèse Raquin an effective melodrama. This is not the Zola of Germinal or La Bete Humain, those novels I found were a class above this by some considerable distance. But had this been my first Zola then it probably would have made more of an impression on me. I still can't believe just how many novels he actually wrote. Not likely to run out Zola reads for many a year to come. This was a solid novel, it's just the others I have read were that good.
May 16, 2017
I read this book with morbid fascination, following with horror the deterioration of the sanity of the two main characters, Therese and Laurent. It's not a pleasant book to read. Quite the opposite. Zola wrote this book for men, not women. He didn't intend it to be regarded as a novel - which he considered to be for women, not men - but as an objective study of human behaviour which he likened to that of 'beasts'. Knowing this, it's easy to read it as if we are watching two laboratory rats rather than human beings. It would be unkind to rats to compare them with this horrific, debased and senselessly cruel pair, however. This isn't Zola's finest hour but it is worth reading for the experience.
September 15, 2012
This book is alive. From the first to the last I saw the story came to life and I was drawn so completely in. It made my heart beat a little faster, and even now I have put the book down, slept and lived through another day, it is still in my head and my heart.
On one hand the story is utterly modern: and it is timeless. It would be so easy to reset in in any period since it was published, and equally easy to take it back through the centuries.
Because this is a story of humanity. Of what people may do to get what they want, and of how they may be destroyed if they reach too far, if they cross certain lines.
A story of emptiness, passion, horror, despair, guilt, revenge …
Thérèse was the daughter of a French sailor and a native woman. Her father took his sister, a haberdasher, to raise with her son. Camille, a bright but sickly child. It was expected that Thérèse and Camille would marry, and marry they did. Not because either one had feelings for the another, but because it didn’t occur to either of them to do anything else, or that life could offer anything more than they already knew.
Zola painted a picture of dark and dull lives, and yet he held me. Somehow, I don’t know how, he planted the idea that something would happen, that it was imperative that I continued to turn the pages.
When Camille tried to pull away from his protective mother life changed. Thérèse met Laurent, a friend of her husband who was everything that her husband was not. A passionate, obsessive relationship grew between them. Their feelings were tangible.
They feared discovery. They knew what they wanted, and they were oblivious to anything else. And so they acted.
That act is stunning. Shocking. A flash of light in a dark story, and it is executed quite brilliantly.
It may sound like an end, but it came early in the story.
The knowledge of what they had done, the consequences of what they had done, were corrosive. For Thérèse. For Laurent. And for their relationship.
For a while it isn’t clear where the story will go. The pair seem trapped, in lives overtaken by guilt, horror and despair. But then something snaps. A downward spiral leads to a devastating conclusion.
Zola handles all of this magnificently.
The bleak street, the house, where Thérèse and her family lived and worked was described so vividly, the atmosphere was so claustrophic, it was utterly real.
And he deployed his cast – four principals, four supporting players, and a cat – so cleverly. Each was essential. Each had more than one role to play. Their story has broad strokes, and it has small details too, and they all work together beautifully.
The story is desperately dark, but it is honest and never gratuitous. And the story is paramount; everything else is there to support the story, and it is woven in so well that it is never a distraction. You could stop to observe if you chose, or you could be quite naturally swept along by events.
It’s greatest strength is its creator’s understanding of humanity. That allowed him to bring flawed, fallible, utterly real human beings to life on the page. To lay bare their hearts and souls. And to make the evolution of their lives, the extraordinary things that happen, completely understandable.
And so it was that the skill of the author, and the understanding of the author, make this book compelling, horrific, and desperately sad.
On one hand the story is utterly modern: and it is timeless. It would be so easy to reset in in any period since it was published, and equally easy to take it back through the centuries.
Because this is a story of humanity. Of what people may do to get what they want, and of how they may be destroyed if they reach too far, if they cross certain lines.
A story of emptiness, passion, horror, despair, guilt, revenge …
Thérèse was the daughter of a French sailor and a native woman. Her father took his sister, a haberdasher, to raise with her son. Camille, a bright but sickly child. It was expected that Thérèse and Camille would marry, and marry they did. Not because either one had feelings for the another, but because it didn’t occur to either of them to do anything else, or that life could offer anything more than they already knew.
Zola painted a picture of dark and dull lives, and yet he held me. Somehow, I don’t know how, he planted the idea that something would happen, that it was imperative that I continued to turn the pages.
When Camille tried to pull away from his protective mother life changed. Thérèse met Laurent, a friend of her husband who was everything that her husband was not. A passionate, obsessive relationship grew between them. Their feelings were tangible.
They feared discovery. They knew what they wanted, and they were oblivious to anything else. And so they acted.
That act is stunning. Shocking. A flash of light in a dark story, and it is executed quite brilliantly.
It may sound like an end, but it came early in the story.
The knowledge of what they had done, the consequences of what they had done, were corrosive. For Thérèse. For Laurent. And for their relationship.
For a while it isn’t clear where the story will go. The pair seem trapped, in lives overtaken by guilt, horror and despair. But then something snaps. A downward spiral leads to a devastating conclusion.
Zola handles all of this magnificently.
The bleak street, the house, where Thérèse and her family lived and worked was described so vividly, the atmosphere was so claustrophic, it was utterly real.
And he deployed his cast – four principals, four supporting players, and a cat – so cleverly. Each was essential. Each had more than one role to play. Their story has broad strokes, and it has small details too, and they all work together beautifully.
The story is desperately dark, but it is honest and never gratuitous. And the story is paramount; everything else is there to support the story, and it is woven in so well that it is never a distraction. You could stop to observe if you chose, or you could be quite naturally swept along by events.
It’s greatest strength is its creator’s understanding of humanity. That allowed him to bring flawed, fallible, utterly real human beings to life on the page. To lay bare their hearts and souls. And to make the evolution of their lives, the extraordinary things that happen, completely understandable.
And so it was that the skill of the author, and the understanding of the author, make this book compelling, horrific, and desperately sad.
June 1, 2017
Un callejón inmundo de humedad y mugre por el que los transeúntes pasan apresurados para acortar camino sirve de marco a esta novela que inicia la corriente del Naturalismo. Escrita por un joven Zola veinteañero, sorprende su temprana maestría. Thérèse Raquin es un excelente estudio psicológico.
Esta obra es una clara muestra de que para escribir un trabajo magistral, no hacen falta más que unos pocos personajes y una extensión abarcable.
Se me hace difícil elaborar esta reseña sin incurrir en spoilers. Básicamente, la historia se centra en una relación adulterina que acaba en asesinato. Y la mayor parte de la acción resulta de la culpa y el asco originados por ese asesinato. Sus autores pierden la posibilidad de ser felices.
La novela incluye todos los tics del Naturalismo, como las minuciosas descripciones de lo cutre y lo mezquino:
Todos los colores se habían vuelto de un gris sucio en aquella vitrina, que pudrían el polvo y la humedad.
La pasión de los adúlteros es brutal, animalesca:
Ambos habrían querido arrancarse mutuamente jirones de carne y llevárselos pegados a los dedos.
De hecho, Zola menciona reiteradamente a los protagonistas como “animales irracionales”.
Recomiendo esta obra a los amantes de los clásicos y a quienes quieran leer una novela no demasiado extensa.
Esta obra es una clara muestra de que para escribir un trabajo magistral, no hacen falta más que unos pocos personajes y una extensión abarcable.
Se me hace difícil elaborar esta reseña sin incurrir en spoilers. Básicamente, la historia se centra en una relación adulterina que acaba en asesinato. Y la mayor parte de la acción resulta de la culpa y el asco originados por ese asesinato. Sus autores pierden la posibilidad de ser felices.
La novela incluye todos los tics del Naturalismo, como las minuciosas descripciones de lo cutre y lo mezquino:
Todos los colores se habían vuelto de un gris sucio en aquella vitrina, que pudrían el polvo y la humedad.
La pasión de los adúlteros es brutal, animalesca:
Ambos habrían querido arrancarse mutuamente jirones de carne y llevárselos pegados a los dedos.
De hecho, Zola menciona reiteradamente a los protagonistas como “animales irracionales”.
Recomiendo esta obra a los amantes de los clásicos y a quienes quieran leer una novela no demasiado extensa.
April 30, 2024
This was my first time reading Émile Zola, and boy was it a treat! His writing in Thérèse Raquin is absolutely sublime and compelling, so much so that I could hardly put this book down. The intricate development of each of the characters, from Laurent and Thérèse to Camille and Madame Raquin, as well as the vivid portrayal of 19th century lower-middle class Paris, in this morbid story were exquisite. Zola, much like Dostoevsky in Crime and Punishment, takes readers down into the murky, hellish depths of the human soul in this exploration of adultery, murder and betrayal. Albeit, he uses two main characters (Laurent and Thérèse) as the vehicle for this study of the dark side of human existence.
Despite the fact that I read an English translation of Thérèse Raquin, which may have attenuated to some extent the full effect of Zola's literary finesse, I could find nothing lacking in his execution of this narrative. Interestingly, in the Preface to the 2nd edition of the novel, it is mentioned that Thérèse Raquin received at the time of its release in the late 1860s a very harsh reception from critics. The novel was in fact considered scandalous which greatly embittered Zola, who felt passionately that his work was misunderstood by critics. More than one hundred and fifty years on Thérèse Raquin has deservedly found its place among the most widely read French literature of the 19th century.
Despite the fact that I read an English translation of Thérèse Raquin, which may have attenuated to some extent the full effect of Zola's literary finesse, I could find nothing lacking in his execution of this narrative. Interestingly, in the Preface to the 2nd edition of the novel, it is mentioned that Thérèse Raquin received at the time of its release in the late 1860s a very harsh reception from critics. The novel was in fact considered scandalous which greatly embittered Zola, who felt passionately that his work was misunderstood by critics. More than one hundred and fifty years on Thérèse Raquin has deservedly found its place among the most widely read French literature of the 19th century.
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