Reviews

Earth by Émile Zola

retrophrenologist's review against another edition

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medium-paced

5.0

nnjack68's review

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dark emotional sad slow-paced

3.0

mxmlln's review against another edition

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2.0

Had already read another Zola book, so knew to expect solid writing with no story direction. Was not happy to have to read another one for the book club, especially since all the faults were the same. Basically about a town and one, large, extended family. Nothing else to say, except not to read it.

kiri_johnston's review

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challenging emotional funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

kiriamarin's review against another edition

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4.0

Este obra é uma das melhores da serie dos Rougon- Mcquart do Zola,deixando os ares urbanos e trazendo um drama rural espetacular em retratos humanos em seu apice de perfidia,ganancia animalesca, que movem suas vidas e atitudes por puro instinto de sobrevivencia,tal qual as antigas e primeiras civilizacoes ,vivem uma batalha sangrenta e barbara pela terra,nâo importando laços de sangue ou moralidade.
Esqueça o mito do bom campones,ignorante porem docil ,que Tolstoy traz em algumas das suas obras ou o idilio campestre,lugar de descanso em contraponto a vida citadina, aqui a vida é turbulenta e grosseira .Ainda mais quando a terra é dividida entre uma grande familia ,onde todos são praticamente vizinhas,está pronto o inferno na terra. O intruso neste casulo familiar è Jean Mcquart, irmão da pobre Gervaise,outra personagem protagonista de 'A taberna' , tambem um pobre soldado que abre e fecha a narrativa desta estoria,que busca a tal serenidade rural e se insere no meio destas familia enorme :Os Fouan.

Uma passagem no livro que que sumariza a questao da terra e as constantes tensoes entre burgueses,nobres e plebeus é quando Jean faz a leitura em voz alta pra a familia Fouan de The Misfortunes and Triumphs de Jacques Bohomme',um panfleto ficticio mas baseado em um real pessoa nestas guerras por terras desde a era medieval ate a epoca bonapartista,onde os camponeses sempre levaram a pior na divisao de terras,com fome e morte acompanhadas. Os Fouan são geracoes de familias que cresceram e morreram por essa terra,de lavrar,colher,seu orgulho e sobrevivencia,sua independencia de servos desde a revolucao.

Esta obra podemos ver o extremo do naturalismo de Zola, de uma vaca parindo um bezerro em paralelo a um parto de um bebe indesejado, de incestos familiares,personagens alcoolatras e dominados por paixoes vulgares e boas familias hipocritas que escondem seus negocios sujos...Não hã felicidade ou pessoas boas aqui,apenas como sempre uma brilhante descricao de vidas do interior agricola frances por Zola,que nao poupa o leitore muito menos os seus personagens do pessimismo de viver e morrer por algumas moedas.

Entre tantos personagens fascinantes destaco a tia Mariannne Fouan 'La grande',que já coloco na minha lista de 'mulheres más' favoritas. a unica pessoa que posso dizer que teve alguma satisfacao do inicio ao fim desta estoria,com sua peculiar egotistica e mesquinha personalidade.

Uma grande obra.

browngirlreading's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The end of this book made me mad as hell!

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

alukemartin's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny informative reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

la_dent_dure's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

borealis85's review against another edition

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4.0

Jean from the [b:The Debacle|19216733|The Debacle (Classics)|Émile Zola|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386278798s/19216733.jpg|3522286] is in this book between the war in italy and the campaign described in the "debacle".

So vivid, so many characters... so much bitter realism..

The earth is a huge work in quality, even considered by Zola his best. Jean after the War comes with his army buddy Buteau to the country side and in the next 10 years there is a whole lot of going on in the Family of Fouan in which Jean ultimately marries in to and gets bitterly disappointed. I am giving this 4.5 stars, I would have given it five if it would have had a happy ending. Now i am bitterly confused and disgusted with humankind. Adding to that is the fact that i already know that Jean is not going to have the happiest of times in the "Debacle" either.

thornback_heich's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

La Terre is a captivating and terrifying novel of Emile Zola's, the true essence of naturalism. The atrocities of humans are cruelly depicted in this intricately crafted story and everything feels as if the incident has taken place somewhere in reality. Zola's writing, modest yet infinitely descriptive, launch numerous political debates and critics of peasant life. La Terre raises the ultimate question of how far humans can go to achieve wealth.