Lourdes

Three Cities Trilogy #1

by Émile Zola, Ernest Alfred Vizetelly (Translator)

One of Zola's Three Cities Trilogy, Lourdes is a story surrounding the famous Catholic healing shrine in Southern France. Lourdes, in addition to telling the tales of many of the sick and dying pilgrims to the famous healing shrine, is also the story of doomed lovers, Pierre a priest who questions his faith, and his frail, sickly lover Marie de Geursaint, who, in finding a cure, perhaps, in the waters of Lourdes, becomes the book's heroine. Although Marie's triumphant cure is described glowingly, Pierre and the reader learn -- it is Marie who cured herself, not the holy waters of Lourdes -- and it is in that which lies Zola's message.

Genres: Classics, France, Fiction, 19th Century, French Literature, Religion, Novels

444 pages, Hardcover

First published July 25, 1894

About the author

Émile 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.

Reviews

[Το Άθχημο γατί του θενιόρ Γκουαναμίρου · Rating 5 out of 5]

Όταν τελείωσα την ιστορία της οικογένειας των Ρουγκόν –Μακάρ, αυτήν την απίστευτη περιπέτεια της ανθρώπινης κληρονομικότητας όπως την ξεδιπλώνει ο Ζολά μέσα σε είκοσι ολόκληρους τόμους, αναρωτιόμουν για τον αν ο αγαπημένος μου συγγραφέας θα μπορούσε να συνεχίσει με κάτι εξίσου μεγαλειώδες ή αν θα με απογοήτευε. Έτσι έπιασα το επόμενο έργο του το πρώτο μέρος μια τριλογίας με γενικό τίτλο: «Οι τρεις Πόλεις»

Ο πρώτος τόμος έχει τίτλο Λούρδη και δεν έχει μεταφραστεί, ακόμα στα ελληνικά. Περιγράφει ένα πενθήμερο ταξίδι σε μια πόλη που λέγεται Λούρδη, στην νότια Γαλλία, στην οποία κάθε χρόνο διεξάγεται ένα μεγαλειώδες θρησκευτικό προσκύνημα. Εκεί σε μια σπηλιά (γκρότο) μια νεαρή έφηβη, η Μπερναντέτ Σουμπιρούς, στα 1858, είδε το όραμα της Παναγίας κι από τότε χριστιανοί από τα πέρατα του κόσμου άρχισαν να επισκέπτονται τον ιερό αυτόν τόπο, αναζητώντας το θαύμα, την θεραπεία, την θρησκευτική κάθαρση από τις αμαρτίες τους, την παρηγοριά στα μικρά ή μεγάλα προβλήματά τους.

Σε αυτήν την πόλη φτάνει ο νεαρός ιερέας Πιερ Φρομέν, αναζητώντας την χαμένη του πίστη, συνοδεύοντας την καθηλωμένη σε αναπηρικό αμαξίδιο παιδική του φίλη Μαρί ντε Γκερσέν και τον πατέρα της. Γύρω τους άνθρωποι πολλοί, άρρωστοι, ανάπηροι, δυστυχισμένοι έχουν έρθει αναζητώντας το θαύμα. Η Παναγία της Λούρδης είναι επιλεκτική. Δεν μπορεί να εισακούσει τις προσευχές όλων. Ωστόσο μπορεί να δώσει την ελπίδα, εκεί όπου η επιστήμη και η λογική έχουν αποτύχει, μπορεί να προσφέρει την παρηγοριά σε εκείνους που δεν έχουν άλλο καταφύγιο στην ζωή τους και πάνω από όλα μπορεί να αποκαταστήσει την τσακισμένη ανθρώπινη θέληση για ζωή, αγάπη και ευτυχία.

Εγώ είμαι χριστιανή. Ο Ζολά δεν υπήρξε ποτέ πιστός καθολικός. Αλλά οι αλήθειες που λέει, ο τρόπος που περιγράφει αυτό το ιδιόμορφο θρησκευτικό φαινόμενο που λέγεται θαύμα, είναι μεγαλειώδης. Χωρίς να θίγει και να προσβάλει τους αναγνώστες του, παρατηρεί, αποκαλύπτει, ανατέμνει με τρόπο αριστοτεχνικό τον ανθρώπινο ψυχισμό των ασθενών και των φίλων και συγγενών τους, και την εκμετάλλευση αυτής την ανθρώπινης ανάγκης από ένα ιερατείο προσανατολισμένο στην κερδοσκοπία και την οικονομική εκμετάλλευση της ανθρώπινης ανάγκης για ελπίδα, ζωή και σωτηρία.

Μιλάμε για ένα απολαυστικό, χειμαρρώδες, ολοζώντανο, φρέσκο και αποκαλυπτικό κείμενο. Οι περιγραφές του, είναι σχεδόν κινηματογραφικές. Η σκιαγράφηση των χαρακτήρων, λεπτεπίλεπτη και βαθύτατη. Η εξέλιξη της υπόθεσης δεν κάνει πουθενά κοιλιά. Είναι ένα άρτιο ολοκληρωμένο έργο ενός μετρ της πένας. Ο Ζολά, που έχει μεγάλη εμπειρία και ως δημοσιογράφος αξιοποιεί στο έπακρο την εμπειρία του και κάνει ένα βήμα ακόμα πιο πέρα. Ξεδιπλώνει μια κοσμοθεωρία, μια φιλοσοφία της ζωής. Δεν μιλάμε πλέον για τον άνθρωπο ως έρμαιο της κληρονομικότητας, αλλά για τον άνθρωπο ως ον που έχει ανάγκη να υπερβεί τον εαυτό του, την φθαρτότητά του και να βρει την αθανασία. Η ζωή είναι η μεγάλη πρωταγωνίστρια και η τελική νικήτρια αυτής της ιστορίας.

Ο Πιερ σκέφτεται:

«Ίσως είναι αλήθεια πως η πίστη των απλοϊκών ανθρώπων δεν είναι από μόνη της επαρκής. Εφόσον ορισμένοι κινδυνεύουν να χαθούν εξαιτίας της επιθυμίας τους για οπισθοδρόμηση, μήπως θα έπρεπε να κλείσουμε το Γκρότο προκαλώντας έτσι, νέες αγωνίες και δυστυχίες;
Η συμπόνια του εξεγειρόταν από αυτήν την σκέψη, Ω! όχι! Θα ήταν έγκλημα να στερήσουμε το όνειρο του Παραδείσου από εκείνα τα φτωχά πλάσματα που υποφέρουν είτε στο σώμα είτε στο νου, και που ως μοναδική ανακούφιση έχουν το να γονατίζουν όλοι μαζί μέσα στο μεγαλείο των αναμμένων λαμπάδων και την κατευναστική επανάληψη των ύμνων. »

Ωστόσο δεν μπορούν να βρουν όλοι παρηγοριά μέσα στην θρησκεία. Οι θρησκείες για τον Ζολά, πρέπει να πεθαίνουν, αν θέλουν στην πορεία να αναγεννηθούν, ως κάτι νέο, που να ικανοποιεί τις ανάγκες των σύγχρονων ανθρώπων. Το παρελθόν δεν μπορεί να επιστρέψει. Καμία χριστιανική δημοκρατία δεν έχει ελπίδα. Υπάρχει κάτι άλλο. Μια νέα θρησκεία στα σπάργανα. Με Πρωθιέρεια την Μπερναντέτ ή έστω αυτό που η μικρή βοσκοπούλα συμβολίζει: Την δύναμη της ανθρώπινης θέλησης για ζωή.

Ωστόσο θα υπάρχουν πάντα και οι άνθρωποι σαν τον Πιερ, αυτοί που το μυαλό, πάντα θα καταδυναστεύει την καρδιά τους κι αυτό δεν είναι ούτε κακό, ούτε καλό. Είναι απλώς ένας τρόπος ζωής, ένας τρόπος σκέψης, ανάμεσα στους τόσους άλλους. Κι οφείλει να είναι εξίσου σεβαστός:

«Η λογική παρέμενε η κυρίαρχη ερωμένη του, αυτή που δεν τον άφηνε να βουλιάζει ακόμα και μέσα στην θάλασσα των αποτυχιών και των αμφισημιών της επιστήμης. Κάθε φορά που συναντούσε κάτι ακατανόητο, εκείνη του ψιθύριζε: «Υπάρχει σίγουρα μια φυσική εξήγηση, που απλώς μου διαφεύγει».
Επαναλάμβανε πως δεν υπήρχε κανένα υγιές ιδεώδες έξω από την πορεία προς την ανακάλυψη του αγνώστου, τον αργό θρίαμβο της λογικής μέσα από την αθλιότητα του σώματος και του μυαλού.»

Υπέροχο βιβλίο, απολαυστικό και πάντα επίκαιρο. Μα γιατί δεν το έχουν μεταφράσει ακόμα στα ελληνικά; Με αυτήν την τριλογία ο Ζολά μπαίνει πλέον σε μια φάση ωριμότητας. Είναι ήδη καταξιωμένος. Έχει χτίσει με κόπο το δικό του φιλοσοφικό και ιδεολογικό σύστημα. Ξέρει τι να περιμένει από την ζωή και το διεκδικεί με πάθος. Και πλέον ξέρει να γράφει. Και δεν θα σταματήσει να γράφει ως το τραγικό και απότομο τέλος της ζωής του.

Update 23/9/2015
ανακάλυψα την μελέτης της Τριανταφυλλιάς Ν. Κασσέτα με γενκό τίτλο: Ο Γαλλικός ρεαλισμός και νατουραλισμός στην ελληνική πεζογραφία στα τέλη του 19ου και στις αρχές του 20 αιώνα: Αφηγηματικές τεχνικές. 2010 την οποια η ερευνήτρια έχει ανεβάσει στο ΕΚΤ.
Εκεί αναφέρει πως τουλάχιστον 2 μέρη της τριλογίας έχουν μεταφραστεί στα ελληνικά από τον Αλέξανδρο Παπαδιαμάντη:
Αι τρεις πόλεις. Λούρδη, Ακρόπολις, 31-07-1894 και
Το Παρίσι, Ακρόπολις, 01-11-1897.
(υποψιάζομαι πως μπορεί να έχει μεταφραστεί και το β μέρος της τριλογίας με τίτλο Ρώμη)

Θα το ψάξω και μόλις έχω νέα θα ενημερώσωωωω <3

Update 3/12/15

Η μετάφραση της Λούρδης από την εφημερίδα "Ακρόπολις"δημοσιεύεται σε συνέχειες από τις 31/7/1894 έως 31/12 1894. Δεν αναφέρεται όνομα μεταφραστή. Δεν έχω βρει καμία αξιόπιστη πληροφορία για το εαν όντως είναι ο Παπαδιαμάντης ο μεταφραστής ή κάποιος άλλος.Κάποια κομμάτια της μετάφρασης έχουν χαθεί για πάντα. Συγκεκριμένα: Η μετάφραση της Λούρδης του Ζολά στην Εφημερίδα “Ακρόπολις” στην 19η επιφυλλίδα (19 Αυγούστου 1894) διακόπτεται και συνεχίζεται από την 28η επιφυλλίδα (28 Αυγούστου 1894).Η αιτία είναι η καταστροφή των τυπογραφείων και των γραφείων της εφημερίδας από μερίδα στρατιωτικών που είχαν ενοχληθεί από άρθρα της. (το γεγονός αναφέρει και η Πηνελόπη Δέλτα στις "Ρωμιοπούλες")


Η μετάφραση του δεύτερου μέρους της τριλογίας με τίτλο Ρώμη, δεν έχει μεταφραστεί απο την συγκεκριμένη εφημερίδα, η οποία απλώς προχωράει κατευθείαν στην δημοσίευση του τρίτου μέρους με τίτλο "Παρίσι" από τις 1 /11 /1897 έως 7/6/1898
και είναι προβληματική. Κάποιες επιφυλλίδες είναι τόσο κακοτυπωμένες που το κείμενο δεν διαβάζεται και σε κάποιο σημείο υπάρχει μια τρύπα, από κάποιον που έκοψε μια αγγελία μάλλον, και έτσι λείπει κείμενο.

Ωστόσο όποιος θέλει να κατεβάσει τα συγκεκριμένα κείμενα σε pdf μπορεί να τα βρει ψηφιοποιημένα από την Βιβλιοθήκη της Βουλής.

Δεν έχω βρει κανένα στοιχείο που να υποδηλώνει πως αυτές οι δύο μεταφράσεις κυκλοφόρησαν ποτέ σε βιβλίο. Αυτά για την ώρα. Αν βρω κάτι νέο θα ενημερώσω αν και υποψιάζομαι πως - κακά τα ψέματα - ελάχιστους θα ενδιέφερε κάτι τέτοιο.

update 30/9/2016
Σε ένα άρθρο στο βήμα όπου δίνουν συνέντευξη ο Ο φιλόλογος Ν.Δ.Τριανταφυλλόπουλος μαζί με την κόρη του Λαμπρινή αναφέρουν:

"Στην “Ακρόπολι”, λόγου χάρη, όλες οι μεταφράσεις που καταγράφει ο Βαλέτας δεν είναι του Παπαδιαμάντη· καταγράφει μεταφράσεις του Ζολά, που δεν είναι του Παπαδιαμάντη".

Πηγή:
http://www.tovima.gr/books-ideas/arti...

Πολύ λίγο υλικό, ελάχιστες πληροφορίες, αντικρουόμενες απόψεις, για την ώρα κανένα νέο ασφαλές συμπέρασμα.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lourdes was first published in 1894. Zola first conceived of the book when he visited Lourdes in September 1891 and was taken aback by the number of pilgrims that visited the shrine to the Virgin Mary. He returned the following year during August, which is the busiest period for pilgrimages, and in Zola's typical fashion he spent time with the pilgrims, carrying out interviews and observations to form the basis of this book.

The book is set over a five-day period starting on Friday 19th August, with each day covering approximately a hundred pages each. The main characters are the Abbé Pierre Froment and his childhood sweetheart Marie de Guersaint, who has been paralysed since the age of thirteen when she fell from a horse. Day one covers the trip by train from Paris to Lourdes and we are introduced to a whole host of characters mostly made up of those pilgrims who have a variety of ailments and who are hoping for a miracle cure at Lourdes. Pierre's and Marie's story is revealed early on in the novel and it is noted that Pierre has lost his faith. Marie is aware that Pierre has lost his faith but she is optimistic that she will be cured at Lourdes and that such a miracle may help Pierre believe again. So, if Pierre has lost his faith, why doesn't he leave the priesthood? He reasons that he is permanently marked as different than other men and that having kept his vow of chastity he should be able to conquer his mind as well. As for Marie's illness, the doctors are not agreed on the cause of it and are unable to cure her, indeed one young doctor suggests that it is psychosomatic and that a cure at Lourdes may be possible if she believes in it herself.

He even predicted how the miracle would come about; it would be like a lightning stroke, an awakening, an exaltation of the entire being, whilst the evil, that horrid, diabolical weight which stifled the poor girl would once more ascend and fly away as though emerging by her mouth.

When the pilgrims arrive the next day they settle in to their accommodation and eagerly wait for their visit to the Grotto at Lourdes. Pierre meets an old friend Dr. Chassaigne, whose story mirrors Pierre's, in that he has lost his 'faith' in medicine following the deaths of his wife and daughter; his own inability to save either has crushed his spirit and his only hope is for God to re-unite them with his death.

Many believe that bathing in the waters at Lourdes will cure them of their illnesses. This belief is so strong that even the corpse of a man that died on the train is immersed in the waters at the piscina in the hope that he will live again. Pierre is persuaded to help some of the patients enter the waters and here Zola describes the state of the waters in which the sick are to bathe:

...the water was scarcely inviting; for, through fear lest the output of the source should not suffice, the Fathers of the Grotto only allowed the water of the baths to be changed twice a day. And nearly a hundred patients being dipped in the same water, it can be imagined what a terrible soup the latter at last became. All manner of things were found in it, so that it was like a frightful consommé of all ailments, a field of cultivation for every kind of poisonous germ, a quintessence of the most dreaded contagious diseases; the miraculous feature of it all being that men should emerge alive from their immersion in such filth.

Meanwhile Marie visits the Grotto and prays to the Virgin Mary to be cured. Over the next couple of days Pierre visits the Verification Office, where all claims of miracles are assessed by a team of doctors, visits some of the local shops that sell all sorts of souvenirs, accompanies Marie's father to a communal eating establishment run by some nuns and visits a local barber who rants constantly against the 'new' Lourdes that has appeared since the pilgrimages, despite making money by taking in lodgers.

The story culminates with Marie's cure during a night-time vigil at the Grotto. Pierre arrives in the morning to take Marie back to their accommodation and witnesses Marie's cure:

But all at once, when the Blessed Sacrament passed by, and she saw the star-like monstrance sparkling in the sun, a sensation of dizziness came over her. She imagined herself sruck by lightning. Her eyes caught fire from the glare which flashed upon her, and at last regained their flame of life, shining out like stars. And under the influence of a wave of blood her face became animated, suffused with colour, beaming with a smile of joy and health. And, suddenly, Pierre saw her rise, stand upright in her little car, staggering, stuttering, and finding in her mind only these caressing words: "Oh, my friend! Oh, my friend!"

The crowd cheer and applaud her, she sobs, and walks, Pierre sobs as well. After all the jubilation Marie ends up at the Verification Office and after much debate it is declared a miracle; only Pierre, who knows the true nature of her illness, is sceptical. And so the last day consists of the return trip; Pierre and Marie have to decide what they want to do with their lives. Will it be together or will they stay apart?

The book is split into five chapters, one for each day, and then each chapter is split into five sections as well. The last section of each chapter recounts the story of Bernadette Soubirous who is the girl to whom the Virgin Mary appeared to eighteen times in 1858 and is the source of the fame of Lourdes as a holy site. Theses sections are interesting enough and give some important background information to the reader. Zola is brilliant at crowd scenes and one is included here, where a whole chapter is devoted to a night procession. There are also some funny episodes and some analysis of the Lourdes phenomena from an outsider's perspective; but I must admit I had problems reading Lourdes, it proceeds at such a slow plodding pace that it was quite tedious to read at times. It felt so static and the structure of the novel was too restrictive, especially where two of the five chapters are taken up with the train journey to and from Lourdes. At times it felt more like a piece of journalism than a novel and may have been better if it had been written up as an article. Unlike Zola's previous novels where his extensive research added to the stories, here it just bogged it down in too much detail as he tried to cram everything in. The other criticism is that there is no tension to the story; we know Pierre has lost his faith, we're pretty sure that Marie will be cured and because Pierre accepts that her illness is psychosomatic he is unlikely to consider her 'cure' a miracle and therefore it is not likely to help him regain his faith. Even the multitude of characters is a bit repetitive as they're all defined by their illnesses.

I was intrigued to see what other critics thought of Lourdes and as always I found Graham King's summary, from Garden of Zola: Emile Zola and his Novels for English Readers the most accurate and entertaining:

Why then isn't Lourdes read today? With its potentially explosive ingredients, it should be ticking away like a time bomb, even after all these years. The trouble is that despite the proliferation of characters, the swirling, nervous crowds and the fascinating conflict between the sacred and secular activities, the narrative has lead boots, with one foot anchored firmly in a single location, Lourdes, and the other, equally immobile, in Pierre Fromant's mind. It is a little like being confined to a dreary little holiday hotel for days on end because of bad weather; even though we are in the company of a raconteur who desperately tries to entertain us, it isn't what we came for.

Although I had a physical copy of the novel I ended up reading most of it on my kindle, partly because of the ease but also because the print was so small in the book. Both were versions of the Vizetelly translation which can be found at Project Gutenberg. The translation is a bit old-fashioned and stuffy and the book could do with a more modern translation but it was still quite readable and I don't think it would have been bowldlerised that much, if at all.

Despite the faults with Lourdes I shall continue with the others...next stop Rome.

[Cynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first Emile Zola book I have read. I am impressed how confidently, gracefully, and comprehensively Zola describes the good and the bad at Lourdes, a spiritual site where the sick go for physical, emotional, and spiritual healing.

My takeaway after reading this novel: Vacations/Journeys often provide a way to reset thinking which can reset personal practices that can reset physical, emotional, and spiritual health.


Read in participation in the Journey Challenge at GR group NonFiction Side Reads.

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Attention Classic lovers, I was introduced to this French author some years ago and have loved his writing ever since. Lourdes is Book 1 in his Three Cities Trilogy, his fictional account of the story of the famous pilgrimage of healing in the Grotto. I have learned so much, albeit Zola’s views about the success and/or failure of the mission that come through in his fictional writings near the end of the book. This trilogy can be downloaded for free on Apple IBooks. Saving Books 2 and 3 for another time. Back to my library loans.

[Mikey B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very hard-hitting novel. It raises issues on belief, faith, miracles, prayer – Christianity in particular.

Our central character is Pierre, a priest, but who is entirely disenchanted – he no longer believes. We follow him on his journey from Paris to Lourdes in the southwest of France. He is on a train with believers on a pilgrimage. Many of them are extremely ill and diseased. They are going to worship, hoping to be cured at the Lourdes grotto. About forty years ago, in 1858 (Emile Zola wrote this in the early 1890’s), a young girl, Bernadette, allegedly experienced visions of the Virgin Mary at a grotto in Lourdes. Over time this became a Holy Site that attracted Roman Catholics from across France and Europe. They would journey there to find a cure and solace. Pierre accompanies a group hoping to find faith, but never succeeds.

Page 266 (my book)

Ah! How he [Pierre] would have liked to fall upon his knees and believe in the miracle, to acquire a certain conviction that that divine water had gushed from the rock solely for the healing of suffering humanity. Had he not come there to prostrate himself and implore the Virgin to restore the faith of his childhood? Why then did he not pray, why did he not beseech her to bring him back to grace?


Zola is a master of juxtaposition. For instance, in contrasting a group of naive tourists versus the very sick lined up at the grotto; vulgar commercialization of Lourdes with vendors selling trinkets, candles, pictures of Bernadette and the Virgin Mary. He is relentless in his depictions of faith and belief, of the multitudes at mass and prayer, of the portrayal of women and the glorification of the Immaculate Conception – all this is contrasted with the rise of science and rationalism in the 19th century. This is a book of passion and intensity – and, at times, with a dark gallows humour. It is the second book I have read of Emile Zola and I am much impressed.


Page 318

The crowd was singularly mixed: there were beggars in rags beside neat bourgeois, peasants of either sex, well dressed ladies. Servants with bare hair, young girls with bare feet... Admission was free, the mystery was open to all... It was a sight to see them, all equally affected by the tepid odour of the wax, half stifling in the tabernacle air which gathered beneath the rocky vault... But the devout crossed themselves, threw letters, deposited candles and bouquets, kissed the rock below the Virgin’s statue, or else rubbed their chaplets, medals, and other small objects of piety against it, as the contact sufficed to bless them... and the defile continued, continued without end during days and months as it had done for years; and it seemed as if the whole world, all the miseries and sufferings of humanity, came in turn and passed in the same hypnotic, contagious kind of round, through that rocky nook, ever in search of happiness.

[Boots LookingLand · Rating 2 out of 5]

this is the first of Zola's trilogy, which at this moment is feeling like a bigger commitment than i can make, but i managed to get through it in record time. unfortunately the quickness of the read wasn't due so much to my investment in the plot (what little there is), or the brilliance of the writing, but rather just a desire to be done with it.

this is basically a travelogue to Lourdes with the semblance of a plot thrown over it, and it's pretty cynical, which made it a dreary bit of business. not that i didn't expect Zola to be cynical, but i was really hoping for a story.

what we get instead is a 1000-page screed against "stupid" people who believe in religion and miracles. and it's couched in those terms. there are some "good" characters throughout, but for the most part Zola treats the whole of the Church and people who subscribe to it as unevolved infantile stooges. his "enlightened" priest, Pierre, has decided that religion is bunk on account of reading some science books (and yes, that's the whole of the explanation for Pierre's utter loss of faith: he read some science books).

with a character that flimsy, it was hard to care what happened; especially knowing that Lourdes would simply strengthen his conviction against religion rather than bolster it.

beh. not looking forward to spending two more books with Pierre.

[Mohammed omran · Rating 5 out of 5]

كان من الطبيعي أن تثير هذه الرواية الجديدة مزيداً من ثائرة اليمين الفرنسي والإيطالي المتطرف، خصوصاً أن الرواية نشرت مسلسلة في صحيفة «الجورنال» الباريسية، وصحيفة «لاتريبونا» في روما خلال عام 1898 لتنشر بعد ذلك في كتاب. وهنا إزاء رد الفعل الغاضب الذي كان لرواية «روما» والذي ساهم في رفع مبيعاتها إلى أرقام قياسية– حتى وإن لم تصل إلى المئة والعشرين ألف نسخة التي بيعت من «لورد»، قرر إميل زولا أن يوسع من الدائرة وأن يستكمل جزءاً ثالثاً، وأخيراً من «الثلاثية». فكتب «باريس»، التي كانت أصلاً فكرة مستقلة خامرته باكراً والغاية منها الإحاطة بالجو النضالي الفوضوي الذي كان سائداً في العاصمة الفرنسية خلال النصف الأول من تسعينات القرن التاسع عشر. وهكذا ربط مشروعه القديم هذا بروايتي «لورد» و «روما» وجعل من بطله بيار فرومان هذه المرة مدنياً وقد انتهى به الأمر إلى خلع ملابس الكــهنوت بعد أن وصلت أزمته الروحية إلى ذروتها. كما بات الرجل الآن زوجاً وأباً لأطفال. والأ��م من هذا كله أنه عاد، وعلى غير توقّع، للالتــقاء بأخ له يكبره بعشرين عاماً. وكان هذا الأخ يعمل في شؤون الكيمياء على غرار ما كانت عليه حال والدهما الذي عرفنا في الجزء الأول أنه قضى خلال اختبار في مختبره، فاعتبرت الأم ذلك المــوت حكماً من العناية الإلهية ما دفعها يومها إلى إجبار بيار على سلوك درب الكهنوت تكفيراً عن «خطيئة الأب». واليوم ها هو بيار العلماني، إنما الخائض غمار مسيحيته الإنسانية العميقة في صدقها وبرّها، يخوض على الضد من أخيه سجالات لا شك أنها تبدو– بالنسبة إلينا اليوم في بدايات القرن الواحد والعشرين-، بالغة الأهمية والراهنية. فهي تتناول العن�� والإرهاب والنزعة الفوضوية من خلال التعارض بين بيار المصرّ على نزعته السلمية على رغم كل ما عاناه وعايشه، وأخيه الذي لا يرى إمكانية لإصلاح العالم إلا في تدميره وإشاعة العنف والإرهاب فيه. إننا أمام منــطقين، في خاتـــمة «باريس» كما في خاتمة الثلاثية: منطق إصلاحي يرى الخلاص في إعادة تنظيم المجتمع لمقارعة الفقر الذي هو آفة الآفات، ومنطق «ثوري» يتأمل أحوال البلاد والعباد فلا يرى مفراً من الخراب كتمهيد لإعادة البناء على أسس جــديدة. ومن الواضح هنا أن إميل زولا (1840– 1902) كان يوصّف هنا متأملاً باريس المال والفساد وفضيحة باناما والسياسة، بالتعارض مع مشاهد اليأس والبؤس، من دون أية قدرة على الحسم.

[Ringa Sruogienė · Rating 5 out of 5]

Labai sveika perskaityti tiems, kuriuos užpuolė savęs gailėjimosi ir bumbėjimo, kaip jiems blogai, jausmas. Turėtumėte išgyti perskaitę, kaip žmonių, kuriems tikrai sunku, neapleidžia viltis.

[José Van Rosmalen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beschrijving van zijn reis naar Lourdes door de niet gelovige Zola, maar wel vanuit oprechte belangstelling

[WillemC · Rating 4 out of 5]

De ongelovige Zola ging eind augustus 1892 naar Lourdes om er onderzoek te doen voor een roman die hij van plan was te schrijven. Van 20 augustus tot en met 1 september lezen we wat hij elke dag zag, hoorde en ervoer, neergeschreven in sceptische dagboeknotities. Vooral de beelden en verhalen van de massahysterie, de wagons met bedevaarders die uitgeladen worden, de onderlinge conflicten tussen verschillende religieuze genootschappen, de achtergelaten krukken die in de grot hangen, de geldklopperij en de zieken die zich in de "geneeskrachtige" baden laten dompelen zijn memorabel. 4.25/5 (foutje op Goodreads: dit dagboek heeft geen eigen pagina en bestaat enkel als een editie van de roman "Lourdes", dat klopt dus niet)

"Het schijnt dat in de grot alles bederft, wegrot en tot stof vergaat. De krukken gaan niet langer dan twee jaar mee, ze verpulveren en moeten vervangen worden."

"Brancardiers die ik daar heb gesproken ontkenden dat zij hun werk niet met hun hart deden. [...] Je moet vaak de zieken helpen hun behoeften te doen. Het verhaal van de graaf die van een zieke in het bad de schoenen uittrekt en een van die schoenen die vol zit met etter uit een beenwond, moet leegschudden."

"Eén ziek vertelde mij dat hij bloed uit een etterende wond had gezien in dat water waarin van alles drijft, huidresten, korsten, stukken verband, slijk, één grote bacteriënsoep."

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

At the end of the century of science, a pilgrimage to Lourdes, the site of Bernadette's vision. Many trains of pilgrims, from all over France converged in Lourdes. One train in particular, the white train, contained hundreds of the suffering masses who sought a miracle. It also contained, Pierre, the priest who could not relinquish his reason, could not have faith. Many characters, including Bernadette's story as well, and much sadness. The exploitation by some in the Catholic church of the event and the desire for healing and miracles by the faithful had transformed the wilderness into a chaotic frenzy of ritual and sale, cheap nick-nacks, "donations" to the religious corporation, and corruption of all. Zola was probably not a believer, and neither was Pierre. The church was in favor of faith and against science. The world was changing ever so slowly. It still is. A tedious book with redeeming quality.

[Michał Hołda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Novel and in good taste, like the water from Lourdes, that is place visited by Abbé Pierre Froment and his childhood sweetheart Marie de Guersaint, who has been paralysed since the age of thirteen when she fell from a horse.

Lourdes water is water which flows from a spring in the Grotto of Massabielle in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, France. The location of the spring was described to Bernadette Soubirous by an apparition of Our Lady of Lourdes on 25 February 1858.

Taking place over five-day period starting on Friday 19th Augus.

And with account of relieve and cured medical cases so common for 19th century medicine that was existed back then with substances that are nowadays narcotics. That people back then believed to be ultimate healing tool.

I like reading it.

[Pikobouh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Une très bonne surprise ! Il m'a fallu du temps pour être tentée par le cycle des 3 villes de Zola, mais ce premier tome est renversant !

[Vygandas Ostrauskis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yra lietuviška 1999 m. laida ("Lurdas").

[Reet · Rating 4 out of 5]

" The priests said that it was necessary to offer to God the acts of expiation which the sins of France required, and that when the number of these acts of expiation should be large enough, God would smite France no more. What a harsh belief in the necessity of chastisement! What a ferocious idea born of the gloomiest pessimism! How evil life must be if it were indeed necessary that such umploring cries, such cries of physical and moral wretchedness, should ever and ever ascend to heaven!"

Published in 1894, Zola first visited Lourdes in September of 1891. He was impressed with all the pilgrims and people with different illnesses who were imploeing the Mary statue to cure them.
He returned in August of 1892 which is the month of the national pilgrimage. He spent time interviewing People who were ill and tourists and pilgrims, taking notes and making observations.
In the preface, the author notes
" 'Lourdes, the Grotto, the cures, the miracles, are, indeed, the creation of that need of the Lie, that necessity for credulity, which is a characteristic of human nature. At first, when little Bernadette came with her strange story of what she had witnessed, everybody was against her. The Prefect of the Department, the Bishop, the clergy, objected to her story. But Lourdes grew up in spite of all opposition, just as the Christian religion did, because suffering humanity in its despair must cling to something, must have some hope: and, On the other hand, because humanity thirsts after illusions. In a word, it is the story of the foundation of all religions.' "
Taking place over 5 days, this is a long work. Each day takes over a 100 pages. The 1st day and the last day are the train ride to and from. It's a 21 hour ride from Paris to Lourdes.
Indeed, during the train ride, the reader is introduced to a car full characters, many of them suffering horrific illness. One man, so gravely ill, is watched over by one of the sisters assigned to the car, Sister Hyacinthe, and a hospitaller, Madame de Jonquierre, Both of whom are selfless, self denying Women who gived of themselves generously to the ill.
" 'I will rub his temples,' resumed Sister Hyacinthe. 'help me, do!'
but, at a more violent jolt of the train, the man suddenly fell from the seat, face downward.
'Ah! Mon dieu, help me, pick him up!'
they picked him up, and found him dead. And they had to seat him in his corner again, with his back resting against the woodwork. He remained there, his torso stiffened, and his head wagging slightly at each successive jolt. Thus the train continued carrying him along, with the same thundering noise of wheels, while the engine, well pleased, no doubt, To be reaching its destination, again whistling shrilly, giving vent to quite a flourish of delirious joy as it sped through the calm night."
(How this man can write!)
the main characters are the priest Pierre Froment, and his childhood sweetheart Marie de Guersaint, who at the age of 13 was thrown from a horse, and Refused to get up after that, supposedly paralyzed. Since she refused to let any doctor examine her, and they didn't have any women doctors at that time, no one could really say what was wrong with her, but at least one doctor thought physically there was nothing wrong with her.
"... In fact this big, nervous child, whose mind had been so grievously impressed by her accident, was unable to forget it; her attention remained fixed on the part where she suffered and she could not divert it, so that, even after cure, her sufferings had continued - a neuropathic state, a consecutive nervous exhaustion, doubtless aggravated by accidents due to faulty nutrition as yet imperfectly understood. And further, Beauclair [a young doctor friend of Pierre] easily explained the contrary and erroneous diagnosis of the numerous doctors who had attended her, and who, as she would not submit to examination, had groped in the dark, some believing in a tumour, and others, the more numerous, convinced of some lesion of the marrow. He alone, after inquiring into the girl's parentage, had just begun to suspect a simple state of auto-suggestion, in which she had absolutely remained, ever since the first violent shock of pain;..."

Pierre the priest has lost his faith, and because Marie and he are so close, Marie knows his anguish over his lost faith. She has total optimism that she will be cured, and Pierre will regain his faith by the blessing of the statue Mary.
Though Abbé Pierre has lost his faith, he decides, after many days of anguish and struggle, where his thirst for happiness was warring with his Resolution to remain a priest, He ends by
"calming himself, still upright, still bearing his head erect, with the desolute grandeur of the priest who himself no longer believes, but continues watching over the faith of others. And he certainly was not alone; he felt that he had many brothers, priests with ravaged minds, who had sunk into incredulity, and who yet, like soldiers without a fatherland, remained at the altar, and despite everything, found the courage to make the divine illusion shine forth above the kneeling crowd."
The ill people and the pilgrims believe that being dumped in the pool made from the Spring that supposedly sprang from the image of the Virgin Mary to Bernadette, Will cure them. They believe this so much, that the man who died on the train on the way from Paris, has his dead body dumped in the water. The priests only changed this water twice A-day, fearing that otherwise the water will run out. Naturally, this water is then horribly polluted, because of peoples' pus-filled sores and dirt from their bodies sloughing off into the water.
Monsieur Sabathier, whose legs are paralyzed, Is taken to the pool. He's terrified of the water, but is determined to try a for a cure. The water is kept icy cold, which keeps people from being further contaminated by illness from the germs of others.
"... And then too, as he put it, the water was scarcely inviting; for through fear lest the output of the source should not suffice, the Fathers of the Grotto only allowed the water of the baths to be changed twice A day. And nearly a 100 patients being dipped in the same water, it can be imagined what a terrible soup the latter at last became. All manner of things were found in it, so that it was like a frightful consommé of all ailments, a field of cultivation for every kind of poisonous germ, quintessence of the most dreaded contagious diseases; the miraculous feature of it all being that men should emerge alive from their immersion in such filth."
While Marie visits the Grotto, a kind of cave, to supplicate to the statue for her cure, Pierre visits the Verification Office, where a Team of doctors Work to establish true miracles out of the multitude of so-called miracles. He also visits some of the souvenir shops where all sorts of tacky religious items are on offer. And he and Marie's father also visit some eating establishments, one which is run by nuns, and also the dining room of the hotel they're staying at.
Madame Vincent, one of the characters from the car in which Pierre and Marie are transported to Lourdes, is a poor woman who comes with her small daughter Rose in her arms, never letting her down. Rose has been ill since she was small, and Madame Vincent is seen carrying the little white-faced child to the Grotto. She kneels there, holding her daughter outstretched
" 'O Virgin, Mother of our Redeemer, heal her! O Virgin, All-powerful Mother, heal her!'
but the poor woman felt her child become even lighter in her extended arms. And now she became afraid at no longer hearing her moan, at seeing her so white, with staring eyes and open mouth, without a sign of life. How was it that she did not smile if she were cured? Suddenly a loud heart-rending cry rang out, the cry of the mother, surpassing even the din of the thunder in the storm, whose violence was increasing. Her child was dead. And she rose up erect, turning her back on that deaf Virgin who let little children die, and started off like a mad woman beneath the lashing downpour, going straight before her without knowing whither, and still and ever carrying and nursing that poor little body which she had held in her arms during so many days and nights. A thunderbolt fell, shivering one of the neighboring trees, as though with the stroke of a giant axe, amidst a great crash of twisted and broken branches."
Marie is "cured" while at a night visit to the Grotto, on the last day of the pilgrimage.
On the way back, on the train, Pierre continues his story of the life of Bernadette. Marie had brought along a little book of Bernadette's life, one of those kind that Catholic shops sell, but he embellished it with his own learnings after years of investigating the Story of Bernadette.
She left Lourdes on the 8th of July 1866. And went to become a nun at Nevers, France, in the convent of Saint Gildard.
".. She could no longer remain there [at Lourdes], owing to the continuous persecution of public curiosity, The Visits, the homage, and the adoration paid to her, from which, on account of her delicate health, she suffered cruelly."
There was actually a time when I could possibly have believed in this "miracle." this is because I come from a family who was formerly Catholic. I went to Catholic school from the grades of 1st through 5th, and those nuns and those Fathers, do a monstrous job of brainwashing children. It took me so many years, until I was in my Late 50s, to cure myself of this brain washing. Humans are so pathetic.
Bravo to Emile Zola for taking on the Catholic Church, and this ridiculous commercialization of the hallucination of a child.

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set amidst a wonderful and pastoral scenery of Lourdes, the novel offers a horrifying, apocalyptic vision of terror and dismay which are being traded unscrupulously. Having reached rock bottom, ill and miserable human beings turn to deception and superstition, to stupefying rituals and promised heaven. Rivers of wretched pilgrims flock to the Cave in demand of salvation, and are almost nothing more but a representation of easy money to all those who feel no guilt for exploiting their pain. What was supposed to be a personal and spiritual experience, a simple sacredness, in other words, is transformed into bazaar, kitsch, and unscrupulous competition for power and money.

While the author manages to portray these themes and contrasts vividly, he is prone to simplification and generalization, which is the reason why the novel sometimes seems a bit naive. However, he has to be given a big credit for addressing these issues so vocally and clearly at the end of the 19th century. Overall, I really liked the plot and characters, although I have to admit that some of them were rather two-dimensional. Nevertheless, their representation throughout the novel was consistent. It was an easy read, interesting and informative. A priest who has lost his faith as the main protagonist and the author's voice, the problem of miraculous healings, a strong critique of the (modern) Church as an organization, pity but also sympathy for the folk who subordinate their reason to blind faith, are all the reasons why I enjoyed the novel and why I will definitely return to Zola's trilogy.

[Loïc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cela faisait un moment que je n'avais plus lu un bon livre d'Emile Zola. Après la lecture des Rougon-Macquart, je ne pensais plus retrouver ces émotions venant de cet auteur, et me voilà pourtant bouleversé après la lecture de ce premier tome de la série des trois villes: Lourdes.

Pierre est un jeune abbé qui accompagne le convoi de pèlerins vers la ville de Lourdes comme tant d'autres abbés peuvent le faire. Il est aux côtés de Monsieur de Guersaint et de sa fille, Marie, qui attend un miracle de la Vierge Mère dans la ville sainte. Celle-ci souffre depuis de nombreuses annés d'une paralysie due à une attaque de la moelle. Marie le sait, elle priera assez pour que la Sainte Vierge la soigne.

Pierre possède un souhait au fond de lui, que nul.le. autre que Marie n'a percé: il espère reconnecter avec la foi perdue durant ce voyage. Si la Mère de Jésus est assez bonne pour guérir les maux du corps, elle pourrait certainement soigner son âme malade. Pierre s'est perdu depuis quelques années, il s'est peut-être un peu trop investi dans les recherches de son père, scientifique, qui lui ont instauré trop de raison pour croire aux miracles. Il a prononcé son serment devant Dieu le coeur serré, dans l'espoir de pouvoir retourner dans l'ingénuité de son enfance.

Tout ce peuple embarque dans le wagon des malades en provenance de Paris, regroupant toute la misère humaine pour un trajet éprouvant.

J'ai été absorbé par ce livre d'une manière hypnotisante, je n'arrivais pas à détacher les yeux de la misère, la déchéance que Zola décrivait. Ces êtres désespérés qui dans un dernier cri implorent le miracle pour vivre quelques minutes de plus. Je ne connaissais pas grand chose de cette ville bénie par la vierge et de son histoire, ce qui m'a laissé tout le loisir de le découvrir à travers les yeux de Pierre.


J'ai été révolté par cette ville qui a transformé les visions d'une jeune fille innocente et naïve en une machine à argent infernale. Cette ville qui promet la rémission aux désespérés pour peu qu'ils dépensent leurs dernières économies dans des icônes et gravures. Cette ville qui a écarté Bernadette par crainte qu'elle gêne à la prospérité économique du nouveau commerce religieux.

"C'était Lourdes gâté par l'argent, devenu un lieu d'abomination et de perdition, transformé en un vaste bazar où tout se vendait, les messes et les âmes."

Comment Pierre peut-il croire à nouveau dans ce contexte ? De son titre privilégié de membre de l'église, il a accès à toutes les coulisses du drame qui se joue. Il en est écoeuré évidemment, il faudrait fermer définitivement toute cette industrie... Mais dans tout ce mal, n'est-il pas certains malades et pélerins qui y trouvent leur compte ? Cette dévotion sans limite ne peut-elle pas toutefois soigner certains maux neurologiques ? Peut-on réellement enlever l'espoir d'un peuple qui n'a plus d'autre issue ? Si Pierre ne croit définitivement plus, il prend la décision suprême de n'être plus un homme, de rester un abbé et d'apaiser avec toutes les ressources possibles les âmes qui en ont besoin.

" Il n'avait plus que l'orgueil consolateur de ce suicide accepté, voulu dans la grandeur désolée des existences hors nature."

Lourdes n'a rien de mystique, c'est un symptôme de la société dans laquelle la religion s'essouffle. C'est un besoin de créer une nouvelle religion devant laquelle se prosterner tout entier et s'abandonner.

" Lourdes n'était qu'un accident explicable, dont la violence de réaction apportait même une preuve de l'agonie suprême où se débattait la croyance, sous l'antique forme du catholicisme. Jamais plus la nation entière ne se prosternerait, comme l'ancienne nation croyante, dans les cathédrales du douxième siécle, pareille à un troupeau docile sous les Mains du maître. S'entêter en aveugle à vouloir cela, ce serait se briser contre l'impossible et courir peut-être aux grandes catastrophes morales."

" Quelle étrange chose que ce désir fou de prodiges, ce besoin de pousser Dieu à transgresser les lois de la nature qu'il a établies lui-même, dans son infinie sagesse."

Lorsque le monde fait de plus en plus de découvertes scientifiques, il est difficile de se dire que même avec toutes les ressources possibles, notre cas est désespéré. Comment peut-on accepter qu'à la pointe de la technologie, le progrès ne peut rien pour nous ?
Je trouve que cette phrase résonne particuliérement fort aujourd'hui. Lorsque l'on n'arrive plus à suivre les développements de la société, que ce soit sur un plan social ou technologique, notre réflexe est de se jeter à nouveau dans le passé, d'y retourner tête baissée en mettant des oeillères.

" Ah! tristes hommes, pauvre humanité malade, affamée d'illusion, qui, dans la lassitude de ce siècle finissant, éperdue et meurtrie d'avoir acquis goulûment trop de science, se croit abandonnée des médecins de l'âme et du corps, en grand danger de succomber au mal incurable, et retourne en arrière, et demande le miracle de sa guérison aux Lourdes mystiques d'un passé mort à jamais."

Pour moi cette lecture était un 5/5, en tant que grand fan de Zola, je m'attendais à apprécier cette lecture mais je ne pensais pas avoir une réflexion aussi profonde sur tout ce qu'un cas comme Lourdes pouvais représenter.

[Iván Mejía · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lourdes
Author: Emile Zola
It is a 600-pages book written in 1891, where The Author makes a summary of the origin of the belief in the Virgin of Lourdes, of the big business which mounted around that belief reached a forgotten town in the south of France and his experiences and observations related to a five-day trip he made to that sanctuary.
The Author left Paris and 22 hours later arrived in Lourdes, on a train loaded with patients who in their despair traveled excited with the belief in a miraculous cure that they hope to obtain by immersing themselves in the waters of a fountain located in that sanctuary, illusion that helps them endure the suffering and discomfort of that trip.
He spent three of those five days at the site of the miracles of Lourdes, observing places, procedures, and people, and he uses a 30-year-old priest -Abbe Pierre Froment- who on that trip accompanies a childhood girl friend who is extremely ill and who is traveling with her father. This Abbe, in turn, is going through a crisis of faith and doubt in miracles and the Author reflects on him his own doubts regarding the miraculous healings attributed to the waters of Lourdes.
Likewise, The Author, through mouth of Doctor Chassaigne, a doctor of great merit who lives in Lourdes where his wife died; recounts how that sanctuary began, and how it has been converted by the Catholic Church, into a source of production of large amounts of money, under the administration and management of both male and female religious orders.
This doctor and others, who even belong to the medical committee in charge of certifying miracles, affirm that cures for unknown causes are very rare, since the vast majority are due to the cure of ailments of psychic origin.
The Author exposes the characters and economic status of different personalities: The patients with their respective diseases, their relatives and their caregivers, as well as the members of different religious communities related to the management of patients and facilities or with personal interests that gravitate around Lourdes and her sanctuary.
Through the mouths of those characters he express what he sees around him and what he himself lives in those five days experience; including a personal participation from him as a distinguished Parisian journalist, which derails the arguments presented in a medical board in relation to the procedure followed to verify and witness the supposed miraculous cures.
At the end, the author makes a sensitive narration of Bernadette’s sad life and affirms that:
Bernadette, the new Messiah of suffering, so touching in her human reality, constitutes the terrible lesson, the sacrifice cut off from the world, the victim condemned to abandonment, solitude, and death, smitten with the penalty of being neither woman, nor wife, nor mother, because she beheld the Blessed Virgin." (From "Lourdes by Emile Zola - Delphi Classics (Illustrated) (Delphi Parts Edition (Emile Zola) Book 26)" by Emile Zola, Delphi Classics, Ernest Alfred Vizetelly)

[Malcolm Frawley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zola is my favourite 19th century author. Daylight second. This is the 19th of his books I have read & there are several still in my to-read pile (I have slowly, over 20 years or more, acquired many of this prolific author's works). His 4 masterpieces, in my opinion, are L'Assommoir, Nana, Germinal & The Earth but this book is way up there too. In 1858 a young girl, Bernadette, claimed to experience a vision of the Virgin Mary in the town of Lourdes. That is historically recorded. So compelling was her claim that the Catholic church accepted it as fact & went about transforming the site from a humble sanctuary into a sprawling, 50 hectare extravaganza that would draw millions of the faithful, most of them tragically ill or injured, in the hope of being blessed with a cure. Zola, applying his usual forensic research, joined one of the pilgrimages, & in this virtually non-fiction novel attempts to explore the mystery. He displays great sensitivity & respect for the ravaged faithful but exposes the vultures, principally the Catholic church itself, who exploit the often terminally desperate to accrue vast fortunes. His principle character, a priest named Pierre Froment, is struggling with his own faith & hopes that the Virgin will also bless him with a cure. The characters are vivid, the pain & discomfort is excruciating, the joy & despair of the pilgrims beautifully recorded. If Zola has a flaw it is his fondness for saintly ingenues (see also The Dream) but 'the father of naturalism' chronicled life as it must have been lived in France in the 1800s - on the land (The Earth), down the mines (Germinal), in the first Parisian department store (Ladies Delight), during war (The Debacle), in the art world (His Masterpiece) & in the steamy dens of prostitution (Nana). L'Assommoir, my personal favourite, is not so easily classified but the struggling classes have rarely been more vividly depicted. Zola may not be everyone's cup of tea but if you like a novel to challenge you with the harsh realities of human existence, maybe check him out.

[Sandy Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe 3.5 but Goodreads doesn't allow half points.
This book (Zola considers it a novel but it doesn't have many of the characteristics usually associated with novels -- plot, character development etc.) is not for the faint of heart. It's over 550 pages long (depending on version and whether you read it in French or English). AND it's the first of a trilogy.
This book is the scene-setter. Fruit of two visits to Lourdes (and, as is usual with Zola, copious documentation). The main character (and the only one really developed) is Father Pierre Froment (Pierre the first Pope and Froment meaning grain to make bread) is a youngish priest who has lost his faith. He accompanies his childhood friend and the love of his life Marie de Gersaint and her father to Lourdes. Marie has been paralysed for years and is going to Lourdes in the hope of being cured.
Zola went to Lourdes with his wife in 1891 and returned alone in 1892. He visited everything there was to visit and observed the pilgrims. Pilgrimages were relatively new (the first was in 1858) and Bernadette had only been dead for 13 years. But the Grotto, the Basilica, the tacky tourist souvenir shops, the hotels etc. (many built in the entirely new town outside the sleepy Lourdes Bernadette had know) were already thriving.
The book describes in graphic detail all that is going on in the town, the reaction of the townspeople to what the church has done and various types of pilgrims who come there. And how the lack of being cured affects them -- some don't lose faith and some do.
But the main idea of the book is Zola's exploration (through Pierre) of how far the Catholic Church has strayed from original Christianity over the centuries and whether a New Religion can offer comfort to the people who need it -- particularly to the miserable working classes of the late 19th century.
I recommend it -- but as social history not as a novel.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author:  Emile Zola
Genre:    Novel
Title:  Lourdes (1894)
Timeline:    August 19 – 23  1892
Setting:    2 days of travel  from Paris to Lourdes;  3 days in Lourdes
Themes:   Medicin vs religion;  spiritual vs carnal love;  faith heals but also destroys 

Quick Scan
Zola  was impressed by  the national pilgrimage that  takes place in August.
30.000  pilgrims were transported to Lourdes seeking relief from their physical or moral suffering.
Zola wants to investigate  the role of medicin vs religion at Lourdes.
Two characters  carry on this investigation in the book: 
Dr Chassaigne and Father Pierre Froment.
Zola wants give us an example of a  'spiritual marriage' .
Pierre and Marie remain  chaste and passionate. 
This is beautifully  described on page 552.


Conclusion:
I would never have selected this book but dared to take a chance. I was curious: Why did Zola write about Lourdes? Perhaps he wanted to expose the hype, hysteria and blatant commercialism  surrounding this site of Marian devotion.  Zola's wants to ask the question: Can medicin or religion  be the best cure for human misery?

Weak point:  Zola is a strong storyteller but he has the...tendency  to go 'over the top' with his descriptions of ...religious processions, churches, crypts and details  about the sick. I enjoyed the book Father Froment meets Dr. Chassaigne. These two characters  made the book worth reading.
Good discussions, information about St. Bernadette and the stage-management of the pilgrimages for  financial  gain! Zola never disappoints regarding: tender love scenes (Marie de Guersaint, Mme Volmar) )  and heartbreaking moments of death (Mme Vincent's child Rose) and the dying.

[Jim Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

How odd that the leader of the realist school in literature should choose to tackle something so spiritual. While we are used to Zola examining themes like prostitution and alcoholism with his penetratingly photographic technique, the fact that he chose to examine the story of Bernadette, a poor simple shepherdess in the Pyrenees who displayed miraculous powers and spoke with the Virgin 18 times in her short life, is quite surprising. Even more astonishing is that Zola does not dismiss Bernadette as a fraud, but comes away feeling she truly was a saint with supernatural powers. In fact, he claims if she had the will, she could have founded a new religion with herself at the center of it. The crowds who swarmed to Lourdes looking for miraculous cures also fascinated him. Here he shows himself to be more skeptical in the character or Pierre, a priest who accompanies a childhood friend on the pilgrimage. He is the son of a scientist (father) and a true believer (mother) and struggles with this duality throughout the book, praying that at the shrine he will be convinced of God’s existence. This does not happen, despite the apparent cure of his friend Marie, but on the train ride back to Paris he reconciles this loss of faith with the world’s need to believe in the supernatural.

[Judit Sarmany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Megmondom őszintén, hogy ez a könyv az első 150 oldalon nem a legkönnyebb olvasmány. Utána sem lesz könnyű, de a történet lebilincselő. Egy hitehagyott pap elmélkedése a Csodák Földjén: ebben a sztoriban nem lesz boldog összeborulás és beteljesült szerelem, de még csak intrikákkal tűzdelt cselekmény sem. Ez egy belső utazás, ahol leírva olvashatjuk azokat a gondolatokat, amelyeket mások talán kimondani, vagy hallani sem szeretnének. Például ezt itt:

"Miért akarunk egyenlőséget, igazságot, amikor mindennek szemlátomást nyoma sincs a közönyös természetben? Ismeretlen misztikumtól várja mindezt az ember, a vallás, a mennyország természetfölötti képzeteitől: ezekkel oltogatja perzselő szomjúságát. Mindig olthatatlanul szomjùhozza a boldogságot, mindig is szomjùhozni fogja. A barlangi papok boltja azért jövedelmez oly ragyogóan, mert az Istent árusítják. .. Ó szegény emberek, szegény, illùzióért lihegő, beteg emberiség: erőt vett rajtad a távozó század kimerültsége, túl mohón habzsoltad magadba a tudományt, s most féltébolyultan, meghajszoltan úgy érzed, cserbenhagytak a lélek, a test orvosai, s hogy rád ne csapjon a nagy veszély, a gyógyíthatatlan, a nagy betegség, visszafordulsz az úton , s egy örökre letűnt múlt misztikumában, Lourdes-okban esengsz a gyógyító csodáért! "

[Trounin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Достоин ли уважения тот, кто позволяет обречённому человеку надеяться на исцеление? Умирая, так и не обретя искомого, человек тем скрашивает последние свои дни. Но, живя пустыми надеждами, человек всё-таки умирает. Всякий ли, дающий веру из одного желания помочь, совершает акт милосердия, даруя веру в существование невозможного? Не преследует ли он иных целей? Например, отнять накопления. А если дело касается религии, то насколько допустимо оправдывать церковных деятелей, выступающих посредниками между паствой и Богом? Эмиль Золя постарался в том разобраться. Выводы его оказались неутешительными. Написанная им книга «Лурд», вследствие откровенного разговора с читателем, была занесена в католический Индекс запрещённых книг.

(c) Trounin

[Nonethousand Oberrhein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Raisonner avec la foi
Il y a tellement de thèmes à retenir de ce roman qu’il est assez difficile d’en faire le tri... l’auteur lui-même se réfugie dans une schématisation aseptique de l’action, narrant les événements jour par jour. On pourrait limiter tout à une confrontation entre Foi et Raison dans le siècle de la révolution industrielle, mais en effet il ne s’agit pas de ça. La confrontation tourne au dialogue, le dialogue tourne à l'échange et finalement, à Zola ne reste que peindre un grand portrait de la nature humaine dans toute sa gloire, tous ses défauts, tous ses espoirs et toutes ses misères face à la peur de la souffrance et la mort. Une tâche accomplie avec la rigueur d’une autopsie, mais le respect des obsèques d’un membre de famille.

[Hans Moerland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dagboek dat er voor Zola met name toe diende informatie vast te leggen waaruit hij zou kunnen putten bij het schrijven van zijn Lourdes-roman. Aardige sfeertekening en beschrijving van scènes, maar daar blijft het wat mij betreft bij. Het boekje bevat nogal wat herhalingen. Afbreuk aan het leesplezier doet de Nederlandse vertaling van Gerda Siebelink, die te vaak 'hen' schrijft waar 'hun' had moeten staan en fouten maakt als 'tenslotte' in plaats van 'ten slotte' en 'wiens' in plaats van 'wier'. En ze had er misschien goed aan gedaan met echtgenoot Jan, die een aardige inleiding schreef bij het onderhavige boekje, even te overleggen over een toelichting op of vertaling van het woord 'buala' (onder meer p. 104), waarvan de betekenis voor de lezer ongewis blijft.

[Julien Tribout · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5

" 'Et la pharmacie ?' demanda encore Mme Désagneaux.
Mais il n'y avait pas de pharmacie. Aucun personnel médical n'était même là. À quoi bon ? puisque les malades étaient des abandonnées de la science, des désespérées qui venaient demander à Dieu une guérison que les hommes impuissants ne pouvaient leur promettre. Tout traitement, pendant le pèlerinage, se trouvait logiquement interrompu. Si quelque malheureuse entrait en agonie, on l'administrait. Et, seul, le jeune médecin qui accompagnait d'ordinaire le train blanc, était là, avec sa petite boîte de secours, pour tenter de la soulager un peu, dans le cas où une malade le réclamerait, pendant une crise"

[Samo Klasici · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emile Zola: Lourdes

Ako volite Zolu onda ćete voljeti i ovo njegovo djelo. Ovo je klasični Zola koji na nevjerojatno realističan način prikazuje dobre i loše stvari u Lourdesu. Ima mnogo likova u romanu (uglavnom se radi o teškim bolesnicima koji se nadaju da će ozdraviti kad posjete Lourdes) ali mi ponajprije pratimo svećenika Pierrea koji je izgubio vjeru u Boga i njegovu "srodnu dušu" djevojku Marie koja je sa 13 godina ostala nepokretna i koja se također nada da će joj se u Lourdesu dogoditi čudo i da će ozdraviti.

Ponavljam: brutalno realistični opisi, klasični Zola i ako volite tog pisca svidjet će vam se i ovaj roman.

[DianeBai · Rating 4 out of 5]

À la fin des Rougon-Macquart, Zola cherche du nouveau.
En 1891, de passage à Lourdes, il est saisi par le spectacle de cette "cité mystique" née de la vision d'une enfant en plein siècle positiviste. Il voit là un admirable sujet pour lequel il s'enthousiasme.

Il en a rapporté un témoignage incomparable sur le pèlerinage, les malades, les foules ferventes et les intérêts affrontés autour de la Grotte qu'il a transposés en un grand roman de la douleur et de l'espérance humaines.

Il a fait aussi de Lourdes un symbole éternel, celui de l'humanité souffrante assoiffée de miracle, et le théâtre d'un grand drame idéologique moderne; la lutte de l'esprit de croyance et de l'esprit de raison.

[Elżbieta Kaczorowska · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dobrze, że wśród mnóstwa "lekkich" książek, o których po przeczytaniu szybko się zapomina, są też takie wartościowe dzieła jak właśnie "Lourdes". Jest to piękna historia przypominająca wyjątkowe miejsce cudów, na tle którego przedstawione zostały losy wielu bohaterów pokładających w pielgrzymce do Lourdes ogromną nadzieję na zmiany.