Émile Zola

Considered by André Gide to be one of the ten greatest novels in the French language, Germinal is a brutal depiction of the poverty and wretchedness of a mining community in northern France under the second empire. At the centre of the novel is Etienne Lantier, a handsome 21 year-old mechanic, intelligent but with little education and a dangerous predisposition to murderous, alcoholic rage. Germinal tells the parallel story of Etienne's refusal to accept what he appears destined to become, and of the miners' difficult decision to strike in order to fight for a better standard of life.

Penguin Classics

Germinal

The thirteenth novel in Émile Zola’s great Rougon-Macquart sequence, Germinal expresses outrage at the exploitation of the many by the few, but also shows humanity’s capacity for compassion and hope.

Etienne Lantier, an unemployed railway worker, is a clever but uneducated young man with a dangerous temper. Forced to take a back-breaking job at Le Voreux mine when he cannot get other work, he discovers that his fellow miners are ill, hungry, in debt, and unable to feed and clothe their families. When conditions in the mining community deteriorate even further, Lantier finds himself leading a strike that could mean starvation or salvation for all.

Sarah Sammis

Kathy Luo

Brutal... this is the og Grapes of Wrath, except no grapes and all wrath

Sarah Escorsa

Encore un grand classique de Zola que je n'ai jamais aimé.

Germinal (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) (Barnes & Noble Classics)

Jeni Enjaian

I am a decided non-fan of Zola's work. While this book did not have the same distasteful elements as Nana, it had its own detractors. For one, there were far too many characters, none of which were defined even remotely well. They flit in and out of the narrative at various points and the reader is expected to remember all previously mentioned details as well as the character's role in the narrative. On top of all that, it's depressing. What is it with classics and depressing subject matters?
I don't recommend this book.

Germinal Penguin Classics

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