- Paperback: 480 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Classics (26 July 1973)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0140442634
- ISBN-13: 978-0140442632
- Product Dimensions: 19.9 x 13.1 x 2.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 256,826 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Nana: Les Rougon-Macquart Series, Book 9 (Classics)
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Review
"The translation...is fluid and true to the text. The A.G. Stevens cover print is an excellent choice."--Roy Arthur Swanson, Univ. of Wisconsin
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Product Description
Born to drunken parents in the slums of Paris, Nana lives in squalor until she is discovered at the Théâtre des Variétés. She soon rises from the streets to set the city alight as the most famous high-class prostitute of her day. Rich men, Comtes and Marquises fall at her feet, great ladies try to emulate her appearance, lovers even kill themselves for her. Nana's hedonistic appetite for luxury and decadent pleasures knows no bounds - until, eventually, it consumes her. Nana provoked outrage on its publication in 1880, with its heroine damned as 'the most crude and bestial sort of whore', yes the language of the novel makes Nana almost a mythical figure: a destructive force preying on a corrupt society.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
32 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a fantastic book - powerful in its critical exposure of the decadence and moral emptiness of its characters and their environment, as well as of the social and political backdrop in which the novel is set. Nana is a product of the Parisian underclass, and this is the story of her rise from the gutter, how she uses her body to capture the attentions of wealthy, foolish middle-aged men, and how she brings down destruction on all those she entraps and manipulates. It is a highly moral tale, despite the fact that the book initially suffered from the censors of the day. Zola's descriptions of the sleazy Paris theatre house where Nana is first discovered - he always meticulously researched his subjects - are totally convincing and evocative of the era and location. Nana rises and falls, and rises again, she is an embodiment, a symbol of all that Zola found rotten and corrupt in the politics and society of his day. Please buy this book - it is unforgettable - the gruesome final paragraph of the novel will stay in your mind forever.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
With l'Assommoir, the best novel by Zola. This story of a young courtisane who breaks all rich men's hearts is a metaphor for the revenge of the working class against the bourgeoisie. Nana avenges the poor in her own way, she never forgets her origins, and that is what will be her downfall, eventually.
I also highly recommend the TV miniseries 'Nana' with Véronique Genest, broadcast in the 80's (available on amazon.fr). You'll agree that generally, film adaptations of novels are disappointing, in that case it's not. The adaptation is brilliant and perfectly captures the novel's atmosphere; the actress Veronique Genest incarnates a wonderful Nana, very faithful to the essence of the character.
But read the novel first!
I also highly recommend the TV miniseries 'Nana' with Véronique Genest, broadcast in the 80's (available on amazon.fr). You'll agree that generally, film adaptations of novels are disappointing, in that case it's not. The adaptation is brilliant and perfectly captures the novel's atmosphere; the actress Veronique Genest incarnates a wonderful Nana, very faithful to the essence of the character.
But read the novel first!
Format:Paperback
I must endorse Lulu and the comments on this book and particularly the refence to
the French mini series. Veronique Genest certainly brings the character of Nana to life.
Regarding reading the book first....
In a way for some it might work the other way and be usefull to see the series first and then read the book.
The series is totally French without the benefit of sub titles but shot in a style that like a Hitchcock film
enables the story line to be understood without knowledge of the French lamguage.
And then all will become very clear and doubly enjoyable when the book is read.
That has been my experience anyway.
the French mini series. Veronique Genest certainly brings the character of Nana to life.
Regarding reading the book first....
In a way for some it might work the other way and be usefull to see the series first and then read the book.
The series is totally French without the benefit of sub titles but shot in a style that like a Hitchcock film
enables the story line to be understood without knowledge of the French lamguage.
And then all will become very clear and doubly enjoyable when the book is read.
That has been my experience anyway.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Lost in translation?
This Penguin classic edition of Zola's novel is a translation originally published in 1972, which I suspect tries to stick to the sentence structure of the original. Read more
Published on 22 Feb 2010 by corvus corax
classic
What can I say? Classic novel, great price, arrived in good condition in good time
Published on 19 Feb 2010 by Ms. Erica Wildwood
Glorious and vicious - the girl and the book!
The sequel to Zola's masterpiece L'Assomoir, Nana follows the story of Gervaise's daughter Nana (whose earlier years are depicted in that novel) after she left home and went to the... Read more
Published on 30 Sep 2009 by bookelephant
Girl Power in the 1860s
No drugs, no rock 'n' roll but plenty of sex. Great entertainment in itself, this book is best read as a sequel to "L'Assommoir" ("Drunkard") whose tragic... Read more
Published on 14 Sep 1999
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