Reviews

The Dream by Émile Zola

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georgialilyw's review

emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

One of the more simple and easy to follow of the Rougon-Macquarts I have read so far. Not quite sure what he was trying to say? Felt a bit like a religious parable (I'm guessing that's the point?)

bluestarfish's review against another edition

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4.0

Found by the cathedral doors in a huge drift of snow Angelique enters a new life with a pious and humble couple. The Golden Legends fill her mind and heart and imagination and she dreams of true love sweeping her away. The rescue seems to involve saving her laundry from flowing downstream but the other particulars seem to come true. An exploration of hereditary traits and environments happen here too in this gentle, dreamy novel and I found this edition's foreword & introduction helpful (after reading the novel of course, why can't they put these things at the end where they belong rather than potentially spoiling the plot??) in placing this novel in the context of the author's other works and literary intentions.

rougonmacaque's review against another edition

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4.0

Je pensais avoir parfaitement saisi le style de Zola et savoir à quoi m'attendre? Bitch please.
C'est clairement un tome qui dénote dans la série des Rougon-Macquart, mais très réussi. C'est une oeuvre complète et réfléchie, mais très poétique (bien qu'un peu longue) : le niveau de maîtrise qu'a Zola de la symbolique et des images qu'il utilise est extrêmement impressionnant. J'ai personnellement été très surprise de la tournure qu'a pris son intrigue, et ai hâte de relire ce livre afin d'en percevoir toutes les subtilités.
(Théorie personnelle: il a eu l'inspiration après l'avoir rêvé)

sh00's review against another edition

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3.0

Золя очень разносторонний, а натурализм этого цикла настолько многогранен, что некоторые вещи выбиваются - и не очень понятно, для чего они ещё, кроме как продемонстрировать практически проклятье Ругонов, две крайности - либо святой, либо дьявол. Та немаленькая мера одухотворённости, которая при должном повороте судьбы приводит к вознесению, как у героини романа - Анжелика (не знающая, впрочем, своей фамилии), вознесению после утраты всех связующих нитей с бытием, после исполнения Мечты. И она же, эта же одухотворённость, при падении монеты другой стороной - это разврат Анны (которая Нана, героиня одноименной вещи).

Прекрасно, прекрасно. Продолжу чтение.

mio_16's review

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dark emotional reflective relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

lucy_qhuay's review against another edition

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3.0

'The Dream' is my first book by Émile Zola, but it won't be the last.

The writing style captivated me from the beginning. The passionate, lyrical prose, allied to the various references to dreams and the tales and legends of various saints and martyrs, led me to a state where I sometimes didn't know if what I was reading was reality or fantasy.

This only proves the author's talent, since, as the title plainly states, this book is mainly about a dream. Not the kind of dream you have while sleeping, but a waking dream.

Angélique, a little orphan girl wandering the streets, is adopted by Hubert and Hubertine, a childless couple of embroiderers, living in a modest house right next to the town's cathedral.

She grows up in beauty and talent, eventually becoming an embroideress herself, sheltered from society and the world in general, with only the stories of saints, holy virgins and martyrs to keep her company.

One night, seeing the image of a handsome, golden-haired young man, near the cathedral, she thinks she conjured the very presence of a saint and promptly falls desperately in love with him.

He is no saint, though. He is the wealthy son of the town's bishop, from an aristocratic family, and his father's refuse to let him marry Angélique is going to create a world of pain for this two starcrossed lovers.

Like I already said, this book tests the boundaries between reality and illusion and that is masterfully done, plus the characters are very interesting, which should have made this a 5 stars read.

However, I gave it only 3 stars for 2 reasons:

a) the book's length - I usually have a problem with novellas and short books, precisely because I tend to feel the story would have benefited if the work was a full-length novel.

b) the many overly melodramatic moments - I know these moments were supposed to be present here, but I just couldn't help rolling my eyes with the amount of drama the characters, especially Angélique, created. It was too over-the-top.

All in all, an interesting book for those who didn't read anything by this author and prefer to start with something lighter to read.