L'assommoir
Zola, Emile
£9.00
L’assommoir
By Emile Zola
Published by Fasquelle, Paris. 1974. Le Livre de Poche. Paperback. Card covers with photograph to the front. Red page edges. 16.6cm H x 11cm W. 495pp, plus 12 pages of the publisher’s catalogue. Text is in French. Condition: Used. Very Good. Spine very slightly faded; Creases to the front and rear covers; Previous owner’s name in pen inside the front cover; Pages clean, bright and tight; No tears.
Overall Condition: Very Good
“What fascinates us about the ‘simple and quiet’ life of Gervaise Macquart? Why does the fate of this young laundress who came from Provence to Paris still move us so deeply today? What do the outcasts of the Second Empire-era Goutte-d'Or district tell us? Gervaise's painful existence is above all a passion, expressing an intense will to live, unwavering generosity, and a keen sense of both intimacy and celebration. And so what if, with fate's help, various ‘crushing blows’—a workplace accident, alcohol, ‘others,’ hunger—ultimately get the better of her and her family? Gervaise will have traversed a glorious trajectory even in her downfall.”
L'assommoir was originally, published as a serial in 1876, then in book form in 1877. It is the seventh novel in Émile Zola's twenty-volume series Les Rougon-Macquart. Usually considered one of Zola's masterpieces, the novel — a study of alcoholism and poverty in the working-class districts of Paris — was a huge commercial success and helped establish Zola's fame and reputation throughout France and the world.