Set in the taverns of Paris, this is perhaps the first classical tragedy of working-class people living in the slums of a city. "The Drinking Den" (1877) is part of the "Rougon-Macquart" series, a naturalistic history of two branches of a family traced through several generations. Zola's work was influenced by contemporary theories of heredity and experimental science, and the behaviour of the two families is shown to be conditioned by environment and inherited characteristics, chiefly drunkenness and mental instability.
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About the Author
Emile Zola (1840-1902) was the leading figure in the French school of naturalistic fiction. His principal work, Les Rougon-Macquart, is a panorama of mid-19th century French life, in a cycle of 20 novels which Zola wrote over a period of 22 years. Robin Buss is a translator and journalist. He has translated a number of works for Penguin Classics, including works by Dumas and Sartre.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Drinking Den is Zola's guided tour through the inferno of nineteenth century Parisian poverty,
By C. M Mills "Michael Mills" (Knoxville Tennessee) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: The Drinking Den (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)
Emile Zola 91840-1902) is one of the greatest French authors of the literary movement called Naturalism. In his many works Zola explores all of French society in graphic detail using slang, profanity, degradation and vice. This 1876 work "The Drinking Den" (the title has been variously translated through the years) is a graphic account of the life of a poor Parisian washerwoman named Gervaise.
Gervaise arrives in Paris with her lover the odious Lantier. He leaves her and their two children for the readily available drinking dens and fleshpots of the City of Light. Gervaise falls in love and marries a reputable roofer named Coupeau. Although Gervaise does not get on well with Coupeau's new family the couple produce a child Nana and live a relatively happy life. All of this changes with dramatic force when Coupeau falls from a roof making it impossible for him to work full time. Gervaise opens her own laundry but the years take their toll. At the novel's end she dies a drunken obese old woman scorned by society and her family. Their daughter Nana lives the life of a prostitute. Prior to the sad end the unfortuante Gervaise was involved in a seedy menage a trois with Lantier and Coupeau! In the Penguin translation their are many expletives which are used and scenes of bawdy drunken and brutal behavior. A touching character is a young girl who dies at the age of eight. The girl had been viciously beaten by her father as she sought to protect her younger siblings from his wrathful behavior. If you want to be cheered up look elsewhere! Naturalism is gritty and shows life without illusion. Zola was a defender of Dreyfus and a champion for the poor. His style is journalistic and almost scientific in the way his characters are examined under the literary microscope he uses with genius.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
TAKES YOUR BREATH AWAY,
By
This review is from: The Drinking Den (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)
This book actually kept me awake at night! The story is so dramatic that I would wake up in the middle of the night feeling so sorry for Gervaise. For me reading this book was a similar experience to reading Dickens's David Copperfield, one of my favorite books. It doesn't matter that they were written over 100 years ago, the writing is so vivid that you feel you are getting a picture of the life of the lower classes in England (Dickens) and Paris (Zola).
9 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
For those who love Zola -- Excellent!,
By Bibliophile "Jay" (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Drinking Den (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)
Zola is not for everyone, it can be difficult to get through at times, but this is definately one of the best in the R-M cycle. Incredibly interesting descriptions of people and Paris. I liked this Penguin translation much better than the Oxford edition (very British).
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
Gervaise had waited for Lantier until two o'clock in the morning; then, shivering all over, because she had been standing in her shift in the cold air from the window, she slumped down across the bed, in a fever, her cheeks wet with tears. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
filthy little brat, drinking den, outer boulevards, forty sous, ten sous, four sous Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Mother Coupeau, Mme Lerat, Mme Lorilleux, Mme Boche, Rue de la Goutte-d'Or, Mme Putois, Mme Fauconnier, Mlle Remanjou, Old Colombe, Mme Goujet, Rue des Poissonniers, Mme Gaudron, Old Bru, Old Bazouge, Hôtel Boncoeur, Rue Neuve, Monsieur Coupeau, Monsieur Goujet, Madame Coupeau, Madame Boche, Mme Bijard, Madame Gervaise, Monsieur Poisson, Rue Marcadet, Chaussée Clignancourt New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Gervaise had waited for Lantier until two o'clock in the morning; then, shivering all over, because she had been standing in her shift in the cold air from the window, she slumped down across the bed, in a fever, her cheeks wet with tears. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
filthy little brat, drinking den, outer boulevards, forty sous, ten sous, four sous Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Mother Coupeau, Mme Lerat, Mme Lorilleux, Mme Boche, Rue de la Goutte-d'Or, Mme Putois, Mme Fauconnier, Mlle Remanjou, Old Colombe, Mme Goujet, Rue des Poissonniers, Mme Gaudron, Old Bru, Old Bazouge, Hôtel Boncoeur, Rue Neuve, Monsieur Coupeau, Monsieur Goujet, Madame Coupeau, Madame Boche, Mme Bijard, Madame Gervaise, Monsieur Poisson, Rue Marcadet, Chaussée Clignancourt New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
1
book
cites this book:
- The Deceivers: Art Forgery And Identity in the Nineteenth Century by Aviva Briefel in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
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