Nana
by Emile Zola, George Holden | Literature & Fiction |
ISBN: 0140442634 Global Overview for this book
ISBN: 0140442634 Global Overview for this book
3 journalers for this copy...
This is one of the books mrgaskell dropped off that mrsgaskell had registered. I wonder if she read it since she registered it in 2006. I'll put it on my TBR pile now. Hopefully it won't stay there for 6 years.
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. It is published as a classic and it is on the 1001 Books to Read before you Die list so I thought it might be something like a Dickens novel or perhaps Thomas Hardy. It was like a work from both those writers but also unlike.
Nana is a sometime actress but mostly makes her living by prostitution. When the book opens she is appearing in a play as Venus. Her first appearance on stage is described thus:
Very tall and well-built for her eighteen years, in her goddess's white tunic, and with her long fair hair hanging loosely over her shoulders, Nana came down towards the footlights with quiet self-assurance.
At first the audience is less than impressed as her voice was horrible and her acting as bad. However, some of the young men in the audience, who didn't care about her ability to act but were taken by her looks, started clapping. Later in the play when she appears almost naked, the crowd is transfixed and Nana is a star.
Nana remains a fixture in the demi-monde of Paris for about 3 years although she goes from the heights to the depths of that world at least twice. A number of men fall for her passionately and, it seems, she can never refuse any of them. She also has a lesbian lover and her male lovers must make way when she decides to spend an evening with her. Several of her male lovers bankrupt themselves to provide Nana what she wants.
Of course, we know from the beginning that this is going to end badly for Nana. The specifics I will leave for the next reader to discover.
There is certainly similarities between this book and those of Dickens and Hardy (writers that I am more familiar with). In fact, I found one paper that compared Tess of the D'Urbervilles to Zola's Germinal. Zola and Hardy were even born in the same year, 1840. However, Zola's explicit use of sex is something that would have shocked Hardy's readers I believe. In fact, many modern writers are more restrained than Zola in describing certain liaisons.
Will I read more of Zola? I'm not sure. I found this book to be quite compelling but I'm not sure I want to explore that world more fully.
I'll release this book soon.
Nana is a sometime actress but mostly makes her living by prostitution. When the book opens she is appearing in a play as Venus. Her first appearance on stage is described thus:
Very tall and well-built for her eighteen years, in her goddess's white tunic, and with her long fair hair hanging loosely over her shoulders, Nana came down towards the footlights with quiet self-assurance.
At first the audience is less than impressed as her voice was horrible and her acting as bad. However, some of the young men in the audience, who didn't care about her ability to act but were taken by her looks, started clapping. Later in the play when she appears almost naked, the crowd is transfixed and Nana is a star.
Nana remains a fixture in the demi-monde of Paris for about 3 years although she goes from the heights to the depths of that world at least twice. A number of men fall for her passionately and, it seems, she can never refuse any of them. She also has a lesbian lover and her male lovers must make way when she decides to spend an evening with her. Several of her male lovers bankrupt themselves to provide Nana what she wants.
Of course, we know from the beginning that this is going to end badly for Nana. The specifics I will leave for the next reader to discover.
There is certainly similarities between this book and those of Dickens and Hardy (writers that I am more familiar with). In fact, I found one paper that compared Tess of the D'Urbervilles to Zola's Germinal. Zola and Hardy were even born in the same year, 1840. However, Zola's explicit use of sex is something that would have shocked Hardy's readers I believe. In fact, many modern writers are more restrained than Zola in describing certain liaisons.
Will I read more of Zola? I'm not sure. I found this book to be quite compelling but I'm not sure I want to explore that world more fully.
I'll release this book soon.
Journal Entry 4 by gypsysmom at Park Theatre & Movie Cafe in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada on Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Released 11 yrs ago (4/11/2013 UTC) at Park Theatre & Movie Cafe in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
I'll take this classic to the Winnipeg BookCrossers meet-up tonight. If no-one takes it home you can find it on the shelves of the OBCZ.
This book is currently sitting on the Winnipeg Official Bookcrossing Zone bookshelf in the loft of The Park Theatre & Movie Café, 698 Osborne Street, Winnipeg MB.
It is waiting there for a new reader to take home, read, and release back into the wild!
Winnipeg bookcrossers meet at my location on the second Wednesday of every month at 7pm to chat about books, swap great reads, and release on the OBCZ shelves. Please join us! We love to see new faces! You will enjoy the comfy atmosphere, the fabulous coffees and teas, and the yummy treats!
It is waiting there for a new reader to take home, read, and release back into the wild!
Winnipeg bookcrossers meet at my location on the second Wednesday of every month at 7pm to chat about books, swap great reads, and release on the OBCZ shelves. Please join us! We love to see new faces! You will enjoy the comfy atmosphere, the fabulous coffees and teas, and the yummy treats!
This book is no longer on the OBCZ shelf. Hopefully someone will journal it soon.
