Zola's masterpiece of working life, Germinal (1885), exposes the inhuman conditions of miners in northern France in the 1860s. By Zola's death in 1902 it had come to symbolise the call for freedom from oppression so forcefully that the crowd which gathered at his State funeral chanted 'Germinal! Germinal!'. The central figure, Etienne Lantier, is an outsider who enters the community and eventually leads his fellow-miners in a strike protesting against pay-cuts - a strike which becomes a losing battle against starvation, repression, and sabotage. Yet despite all the violence and disillusion which rock the mining community to its foundations, Lantier retains his belief in the ultimate germination of a new society, leading to a better world. Germinal is a dramatic novel of working life and everyday relationships, but it is also a complex novel of ideas, given fresh vigour and power in this new translation.
Germinal (Oxford World's Classics)
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"Superb."--Professor James Chastain, Ohio University
"This is far and away the best English translation of Germinal currently available. The translator has captured the nineteenth century flavor of the original without sacrificing clarity or meaning. The introduction and notes are excellent and the map of Montsou and vicinity is a stroke of genius."--Professor Richard Cumming, University of Utah
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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29 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I first read this when I was about 12 years old (in an English translation, I hasten to add) as I had run out of reading matter and came across this book in my grandfather's study.
I am now 62 years of age, but have never forgotten the initial impact this made on me. Somehow Zola's writing is so descriptive and evocative that one feels that one is really there in the suffering and squalor along with the characters. The suffering and social deprivation of those times is quite unbelievable as we look back over 150 years.
I do not know who translated that edition but I have read it in the original French since, where it is even more
moving.
If you haven't read it, please do, you'll be glad you did and, as someone else wrote in review, it could even change your life or, at the very least give you much pause for thought.
I am now 62 years of age, but have never forgotten the initial impact this made on me. Somehow Zola's writing is so descriptive and evocative that one feels that one is really there in the suffering and squalor along with the characters. The suffering and social deprivation of those times is quite unbelievable as we look back over 150 years.
I do not know who translated that edition but I have read it in the original French since, where it is even more
moving.
If you haven't read it, please do, you'll be glad you did and, as someone else wrote in review, it could even change your life or, at the very least give you much pause for thought.
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I came across this book on one of the Open University literature courses. It tells a harrowing tale of life in a mining community as the workers gradually starve and are forced into desperate measures for their survival when a new worker, Etienne Lantier, arrives and eventually masterminds a strike against the worsening working conditions endured underground, and the devious new pay structure. The backbreaking working life of the miners is accurately and chillingly portrayed, (you'll never want to go in a lift again!) contrasted with a backdrop of sexual permissiveness in the community. There are echoes of Mrs. Gaskell and 'Love on the Dole'. In all, a chilling evocation of the workers' hellish existence, and familial ties, in nineteenth cnetury France.
17 of 19 people found the following review helpful
By Mr. S. Goss
Format:Paperback
First of all, it's important to say that Zola is one of my favourite Authors, and someone that should be read by a lot more (English speaking) people. As with all foreign authors, a good translation is necessary. Unfortunately, this isn't it. You really can't afford to read a book this length in this poor a rendering, not least as you'll have to re-read section after section just to understand what's going on.
A far better translation is given by Roger Pearson, who's generally reliable when it comes to Zola:
Germinal (Penguin Classics)
Don't put yourself through unnecessary pain! Read this book in a recognisable form of English - if this translation was your only experience of Zola you'd be left wondering why he's generally regarded as one of the finest writers ever.
A far better translation is given by Roger Pearson, who's generally reliable when it comes to Zola:
Germinal (Penguin Classics)
Don't put yourself through unnecessary pain! Read this book in a recognisable form of English - if this translation was your only experience of Zola you'd be left wondering why he's generally regarded as one of the finest writers ever.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
This is the 5th novel by Zola I have read and the best yet. The novel takes you on an emotional rollercoaster as you accompany the Maheu family through their bitter struggle to survive life in a French mining village. Their lot is a terrible one but Zola paints a picture of real people who feel love, jealousy, desire, greed and pride and whom you care about. Their animal existence is shocking and as usual Zola paints a vivid picture of their surroundings which draws you in completely. The novel contains many strands and Zola also scrutinises the lives of the masters who seem immune to the suffering of their workers and whose families cause them the same grief and strife as the miners whom they consider to be a different species. Its a dramatic novel which is beautifully written and most importantly its a storyline that will have you on the edge of your seat.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I reviewed this book when I read it as a Penguin Classic and in another translation done in the 1940's ( I do not know by whom) it is a marvellous read, evocative of the dreadful, life searing times that the characters lived through.
The Penguin edition is excellent but this one is awful - I have read it in the original French and the translator here just does not do the great tale justice. As I said in my other review this story has a salutary effect on anyone who reads it - but this may not be so with this Oxford edition. To be perfectly honest, I only read about half of this edition and gave up and went to my original Penguin one.
I just do not know how it came to be published - what a shame - Zola was a great writer and observer of his times and I feel that this translation could have put potential readers off reading other books by him.
Please do not allow this to happen - all of his enormous output is wonderful and, hopefully, if you manage to obtain a decent translation, you too will find a new source of great literature.
The Penguin edition is excellent but this one is awful - I have read it in the original French and the translator here just does not do the great tale justice. As I said in my other review this story has a salutary effect on anyone who reads it - but this may not be so with this Oxford edition. To be perfectly honest, I only read about half of this edition and gave up and went to my original Penguin one.
I just do not know how it came to be published - what a shame - Zola was a great writer and observer of his times and I feel that this translation could have put potential readers off reading other books by him.
Please do not allow this to happen - all of his enormous output is wonderful and, hopefully, if you manage to obtain a decent translation, you too will find a new source of great literature.
17 of 20 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Why would anyone read Dickens when they could read the work of Zola. Whilst Dickens wrote twee, contrived stories Zola was writing passionate, exciting sweeping novels about real life and real people in 19th century France. Germinal is considered his masterpiece and it's not difificult to see why.
The story is set in a mining town in Northern France in 1865. A stranger comes to town, starts working down a pit and ends up leading the workers in a strike. But what you get her is an insight into all of those concerned, their acceptance of their lot in life of their struggle to improve it. (don't be put off by the subject matter - it's not all "eh life is grim but we're proud" stuff). The rich mine owners are not portrayed as straightforward baddies and neither are the workers all good.
If you are looking for an exciting story, with characters you feel you know, an insight into how people used to live and a dramatic ending do yourself a favour and buy this book.
The story is set in a mining town in Northern France in 1865. A stranger comes to town, starts working down a pit and ends up leading the workers in a strike. But what you get her is an insight into all of those concerned, their acceptance of their lot in life of their struggle to improve it. (don't be put off by the subject matter - it's not all "eh life is grim but we're proud" stuff). The rich mine owners are not portrayed as straightforward baddies and neither are the workers all good.
If you are looking for an exciting story, with characters you feel you know, an insight into how people used to live and a dramatic ending do yourself a favour and buy this book.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Germinal
Purchased as a present for a keen reader of Zola.. The gift was appreciated and I will buy more in the future
Published 3 months ago by loganberry
4.0 out of 5 stars
Essential Zola
Possibly not the entry-level Zola for first-time readers. The Ladies' Paradise would be better, but there is something positive in this one, lacking in much of the rest of Zola. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Geoff KERSHAW
5.0 out of 5 stars
new book
the book arrived quickly it was well packed and was exactly as advertised,it cost less than the bookshop price i noticed that it was the 1993 edition re-issued in 2008
Published 6 months ago by janicemole
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Masterpiece!
There are few books that have touched me like this before. Zola's masterpiece of working life tells an incredible story of a strike by miners in northern france against pay cuts... Read more
Published 14 months ago by john
5.0 out of 5 stars
A deeply affecting, monumental book. TRUELY amazing.
I absolutely agree with the statements made about Zola's Germinal being one of the masterpieces of French literature. A deeply affecting, monumental book - TRUELY Amazing. Read more
Published on 10 Jun 2010 by Allhug
5.0 out of 5 stars
'Germinal' by Émile Zola'
Émile Zola's 'Germinal' is an exposé on the harsh working conditions endured by the coal miners of Northern France in the late nineteenth century. Read more
Published on 25 May 2010 by Joseph Porter
5.0 out of 5 stars
Present for a friend
I purchased this book, for a friend, who was giving it to his daughter as a present!
Bearing in mind that my friend is a Marxist, I believe that he was delighted with... Read more
Bearing in mind that my friend is a Marxist, I believe that he was delighted with... Read more
Published on 23 Sep 2009 by Ralph Richardson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Germinal
First book that shook me to the extent that couldn't sleep for a week. Zola at his best.
Published on 28 Feb 2009 by Teresa Quayle
5.0 out of 5 stars
claustrophobic excellence.
I read this book for an ou course. If it had not been on the list there is no way I could have finished it. Read more
Published on 21 Mar 2008 by Mrs. D. L. Cox
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