I read this book with French friend of mine after realizing I was a little lacking in my French literary exploits. I still need to get to Hugo, Dumas, Proust, Stendhal...but I knew about Zola from another acquaintance, his associations with the impressionists and Cezanne, and I had recently listened to a BBC podcast on the novel, which they say is his most famous.

It was a pretty interesting and engaging read. I read around about Zola to get a sense for his prose style and it seems he was emerging out of the Romantic tradition, trying to do something a bit more "scientific" and diagnose the social ills of the day, but to me he still had a flair for the dramatic. Many big moments in the novel are references back to famous Revolutionary scenes or reformulated characters from Les Mis. I found most aspects of the novel worth spending some time dwelling on, although some things seemed a little simplified. Zola was perhaps torn in his writing between a realistic story and the symbolism of his characters and what they meant for their class, and the country. The most dissatisfying instance of this was the commentary on Marxist ideology, which is little more than filtered through the misunderstandings of the protagonist, Etienne. However, on the other hand, this misapprehension is very apropos in the novel, as Etienne's ambition is mixed in with the general uneducated capacity of the miners who are alternately swayed and upset by him. I know the book isn't a text on political philosophy or economy, but I would have liked to see the ideas developed a bit more. As I said though, I think the articulations fit within the drama of the book.

A lot of the book is about the drama of its characters and the oppression they face. Even though there is a certain gratuitous attitude, I don't think it ultimately cheapened the impact. The story combined with the symbolism and the social commentary made the book feel well fleshed out. Zola's personal research into the life of the average coal miner and the history of coal mining in France really shines through.