Peut-être (FICTION) (French Edition)

Le Vin des morts

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While the contrasts worked well in the broader context of outlining the inherent sins of the Second Empire, it did not work all that well in procuring enough sympathy for the right side -- for it seems Zola lost himself in the very descriptiveness of gluttony. Rather than portraying it as a disease, he almost became the disease in an ironic twist of descriptive excess, revelling in the very lechery of his language.

Page after page after page of endless descriptions of food became the nausea of the book. I found it to be quite a slog, at one point, and almost gave it up.

The irony not lost on me is that I should be reading this throughout the days of Lent. Even as a recovering catholic, I feel the weight of the purple shroud on my shoulders at this time of year. See what I mean? Now I'm doing it too -- indulging in the excess of language. It's really such a weighty book, and leaves no room for the imagination. Overcome by the sights and smells of Les Halles, I could not even summon the requisite sympathy for Florent, our hapless would-be protagonist.

His story is overdone as well -- the luckless hero who walks right back into his own worst nightmare, pulled along more by inertia than determination to seek true justice. This character befuddled me utterly because he doesn't seem to fit, at all, into Zola's master plan: Instead, he comes across as a dejected and already-defeated malingerer. I, in turn, was quite -- defeated -- by this novel. Someday I may return to it, and work my way through it again to see if it comes across more clearly.

Perhaps I would have more luck if I sipped it accompanied by a pure broth. As other reviewers have noted, this story has been done better by Dickens and Hugo. In Dickens, for one, it is a far, far better tale, told with less indigestion. If there had been less food for thought, it might have merited a 4 star rating.

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Jul 03, Alice Poon rated it really liked it Shelves: I was on the verge of giving up when I reached Chapter Three. I think I will avoid eating cheese for a long time to come. Notwithstanding, I did slog along to reach Chapter Five, whence the action started to pick up steam, and by the time I finished the novel, tears filled my eyes. It seems to me that somewhere beneath all the stomach-turning descriptive lexicon, Zola wants to express just one thought in this novel, which is what the painter Claude says in exclamation at the very end: One of these was a practice where bijoutiers peddled leftover food scraps from the large restaurants, the royal households and state ministries to the underprivileged class for a few sous per portion.

Another was that the fattening of pigeons was done by specially trained laborers called gaveurs , whose job was to force-feed the pigeons. Zola was a master of descriptive writing. In The Belly of Paris he creates scenes that the reader can see, feel, taste and, most impressively, smell the market, all of which are integral to the story. As in many of his stories, hypocritical, vicious gossip drives the narrative.

The highlight in this novel is a scene in which Zola intertwines the voices of the women at the market with the stench of the cheeses surrounding them as their chattering sets off the events leading to a tragic, almost inevitable, conclusion. Reading on, it was like a being in a constant, unbalanced state and compelled me to keep reading. The Belly of Paris is an unusual literary feat, a seeming polemic with a virtually hidden message. In prose that describes the food markets of the city in glorious and sometimes squalid detail, Zola introduces us to this specialized world that feeds the rich and poor of the capital city.

These descriptions are beautifully written and even the squalid details are often metaphorically lovely. Beneath that surface, however, is the battle of the "Fats" and "Thins" also an alternate title of the b The Belly of Paris is an unusual literary feat, a seeming polemic with a virtually hidden message.

Beneath that surface, however, is the battle of the "Fats" and "Thins" also an alternate title of the book. These are not simply to be taken as haves and have-nots. It's more complicated than that. The fat are somehow more acceptable, more successful, even if not financially so. To be thin is to be suspect. He has escaped and now is back, but for what purpose? The people of Les Halles, the produce market, live on gossip, spreading stories whether true or false. The government sits in the background, watching all, making plans.

But, admittedly, these descriptions were beautifully wrought. And, in the end, I found that they served a purpose toward the overall end.

There was a message about the fruits of excess and the role of the state, not the message I might like but amazingly modern. And perhaps his technique mirrored that excess. I will readmore of Zola in the future. View all 4 comments. Las verduleras, pescaderas, salchicheras, etc. Parece que Francia en el momento de la trama atravesaba una ola de prosperidad burguesa. Pero en ese fondo de prosperidad los valores humanos no han avanzado.

It was as though the jewel-cases of some sea-nymph had been emptied there—a mass of fantastical, undreamt-of ornaments, a streaming and heaping of necklaces, monstrous bracelets, gigantic brooches, barbaric gems and jewels, I quote: It was as though the jewel-cases of some sea-nymph had been emptied there—a mass of fantastical, undreamt-of ornaments, a streaming and heaping of necklaces, monstrous bracelets, gigantic brooches, barbaric gems and jewels, the use of which could not be divined. Feb 22, amy rated it it was amazing Shelves: Zola writes incredible, wonderful, sometimes overpoweringly detailed and evocative portraits of the market goods, from silvery fish to pungent cheeses to flowers to fruit to meat to The air is full of battling smells, raucous voices, flying rumors, and sexual tension.

It's easy to emerge from one of Zola's descriptive bouts with a faint nausea and the inclination to lie down for a while with some ginger tea and a cold compress. The more Zola I read the more I just simply love his stories. I am seriously contemplating reading them in French just to see what its like in the original language.

This 3rd installment of 20 in the Rougon-Macquart family saga. His descriptiveness reaches new heights in this book. I felt I was walking through "Les Halles" market with every sentence I read. This is what classic literature is all about. I found his eloquent passages intoxicating I felt I was the paint at the end of the brush I missed not a word. I found the plot an afterthought to that. I kept an eye on it The politics I thought were thin. There were no real power brokers in the cast of characters All were sometimes farcically, sometimes tragically, one in the machinations of power.

A tale of divide and conquer. The descriptive was the ingenuity of this book The character of Les Halles was a living breathing structure View all 5 comments. A tale of two brothers: Which one benefits the public more, the political martyr or the epicurean? Jul 22, Victoria rated it really liked it Shelves: How do I begin to describe the feelings this book left me…. It left me feeling fully satiated and yet I am still starving to discover more about the mysterious world of Old Paris.

You know when you continue to eat after you are full because the meal tastes so good? This is what will occur here.

I found myself constantly pausing to scour the internet for recipes to these Parisian foods. I ended up discovering and growing fond of Blood sausage. This story lacks any real action, this is more of a character development, with overly lush descriptions of FOOD, of course, and also a beautiful city and the people who worked at the market. You felt starving in the beginning, to the effect that it lead you to feel dizzy. There was a small growing plot that was kind of an undertone and not the primary focus… I felt I was too distracted by descriptions to care about a plot.

You felt a strong loathing for the FAT characters, and routed for the skinny underground folks to gain any sort of prosperity- although they seemed to despise it anyhow. They made the underground world of the poor underprivileged seem almost mystical and free from all constraints, yet you wanted to take them both under your wing and raise them proper. I left off a star because I grew a bit frustrated and bored there in the middle, desiring some sort of strong action or plot… I will definitely not re-read this, as my belly is full to the brim and the smell of food now disgusts me… LOL However!!

Prima carte finisata in acest an, a doua mea intalnire cu Zola. Sunt acele carti pentru care am nevoie de liniste si o atmosfera ambianta ca sa le citesc si sa pot sa le savurez din plin. In viziunea mea, Zola, e Prima carte finisata in acest an, a doua mea intalnire cu Zola. The main character Florent is my kinda people politically. He's active and I guess a revolutionary. He brings alot of the action into the book with his believes and everything he has gone through, also, the fishermen wives have it in for him but in that part he was very much inactive and those women walked all over him.

That was some great story development though! Anyone who has read it can tell you that the ending is one of the best ever. You can see the ending miles away but that's so not the point, it's the writing and every character's point of view on it that's the point. Kind of concluding each character's story sort of. Zola emphasizes in this book how life goes on and everyone goes about their business no matter what happens around them. It will inevitably always be so.

Marjolin, the young woman in the pink bonnet, and above all, Florent are sacrificed on the altar of bourgeois greed. Il faut lire ce livre des yeux et non de l'esprit. C'est un magnifique tableau impressionniste de la vie quotidienne des Halles. This book should be read with the eyes and not with the mind. It is a magnificent, impressionist picture of daily life in 'Les Halles'. But as a novel, I Il faut lire ce livre des yeux et non de l'esprit.

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But as a novel, I felt it lacked something. The storyline is quite flat and the characters scarcely evolve throughout the book. But, and I cannot emphasise this enough, the quality of the descriptions remain unsurpassed. Otherwise titled "Obsessed with Vegetables" Zola proves his point that there is a great divide between the high and low status quo through the discussion of food and its mongers.

French society seems to have always been based on cuisine. The era of the French Revolution is no different. What's stunning is the grade of filth, rot, and stench related to it.

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Poor health, fetid atmosphere, mangy animals are all consequences. Return to Book Page. Preview — Le Vin des morts by Romain Gary. Le Vin des morts by Romain Gary. En chemin, il dialogue avec des morts aussi effrayants que grotesques: Paperback , Les cahiers de la NRF , pages. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about Le Vin des morts , please sign up. Lists with This Book.

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This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Nov 11, Ingrida rated it it was ok. When it comes to Gary's books, I either really like them or simply dislike them. This one I was not too fond of - though at times it was quite witty, but I bet Freud could write a tractate on the use of so called scatological humour in this book. It's just not the sentimental Gary I adore, and I was kinda hoping this would end sooner, because every other person that the main character meets on his journey underground didn't add any more depth to his personality throughout the book and the jokes When it comes to Gary's books, I either really like them or simply dislike them.

It's just not the sentimental Gary I adore, and I was kinda hoping this would end sooner, because every other person that the main character meets on his journey underground didn't add any more depth to his personality throughout the book and the jokes felt rather repetitive.

This book must have played an important part in defining Gary's sense of humour, but it's too far removed from his other more mature writings for me to enjoy. So 2 stars it is. Feb 09, P.

Apr 09, Faustine rated it it was ok Shelves: Infernal afterlife humour and adventures of corpses in the underground world of a cemetery. Well-crafted and therefore really enjoyable. Sheds light on a different side of Gary.

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Nov 27, Hristo Simeonov rated it really liked it. Teks skaityti ir kitas R. Sep 20, Michael Finocchiaro rated it it was ok Shelves: I found this book of normally entertaining Romain Gary to be mostly unintelligible and hard to appreciate. The idea of a guy falling into a graveyard and trying to get out is original if quite macabre, but his personality was not very precisely drawn so I had little sympathy for him. As for the various cadavres and skeletons he meets, they are obviously caricatures of people that annoyed or repulsed the author in real life.

The dialogs really screaming matches were hard to decypher and despite I found this book of normally entertaining Romain Gary to be mostly unintelligible and hard to appreciate.

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The dialogs really screaming matches were hard to decypher and despite the Celine like text, I found myself skimming paragraphs to get to the end. Which are just more beautifully written with black but not macabre humor. Mounia Hajji rated it liked it Oct 30, Sabrine rated it really liked it Aug 16, Ania Ould Lamara Kaci rated it liked it Apr 28, Tita rated it did not like it Jan 13, Milda rated it it was ok Sep 17, Stargirl rated it liked it Feb 21, Ivan Merdzhev rated it it was amazing Sep 05, Valeria Ribarska rated it did not like it Apr 08, Barahir Gray rated it it was ok Apr 26, CE rated it it was ok Sep 18,

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