Dr. Sionainn’s Reviews > La Fortune des Rougon > Status Update

The relationship between Miette and Silvère is so tender 🥹

Noooooooow Zola is getting going again. The character of Silvère is the only heart of the series, and I think it's telling he dies young.

The never-ending exposition seems to continue à jamais...

Some scenes are genuinely brilliant, but others are such a slog. One of the most uneven texts I've read by Zola so far.

I hate all these people, oh my God

I hate all these people, oh my God

The concept of a salon jaune is such a fascinating concept.

The image of Félicité poisoning the liberty tree with vitriol is such a symbolically powerful image, especially when you remember Zola perceived the destroyers of the republic as sneaky feminized bodies skulking around in the shadows.

Zola is parodying all aspects of modern French society through individual characters. You really see the influence of Balzac on him in this one.

The idea that Zola is a purely "scientific" writer who breaks with romanticism is total nonsense. This novel is one of sociological gothic horror (though technically, all gothic horror is sociological).
Also, so far this feels like assembling the Zola cinematic universe.