The President of the Chamber remained standing until the faint stir caused by his entry subsided. Then he took his seat, saying rather nonchalantly, in a quiet voice:'The sitting is open.' As always, I am facsinated by translation choices. Above are the opening lines from Brian Nelson's recent 2018 translation of Son Excellence Eugène Rougon, … Continue reading Son Excellence Eugène Rougon | Émile Zola #Zoladdiction
182 years ago today, Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola was born in Paris and for the past nine years, Fanda @Classiclit has hosted Zoladdiction throughout April. I joined in the first two with the only Zola's on my TBR pile - Germinal (1885) and Nana (1880). At that point I didn't really understand how the whole Rougon-Macquart thing … Continue reading Zoladdiction 2022
The autumnal months in Australia have turned into the busiest three reading months of the year. I'm struggling to stay on top of everything going on in my life right now, so creating a page that I can refer back to seems like an essential step in managing my reading and blogging life. Let me … Continue reading Autumnal Reading Plans
La Teuse came in and popped her broom and her feather duster against the alter. Confession one: this story ended up being a chore to read. After six engaging, enthralling Zola's I have hit my first dud with the seventh. Confession two: for the past week I have been trying to read three books that … Continue reading The Sin of Abbé Mouret | Émile Zola #FRAclassic
April is Zoladdiction month with Fanda @ClassicLit! This year I am up to book five in the Rougon-Macquart series - La Faute de l’Abbé Mouret (1875) The Sin of Father Mouret. I will be reading the Oxford University Press edition translated by Valerie Minogue, the President of the Émile Zola Society in London. 'I really don't … Continue reading Zoladdiction 2021
La Conquête de Plassans, or The Conquest of Plassans (1874) is the fourth novel in Émile Zola's twenty-volume Rougon-Macquart series that I have been reading with Fanda for #Zoladdiction. My Oxford World's Classics 2014 edition is translated by Helen Constantine and has an Introduction by *Patrick McGuinness. He reminded me that, Like all of Zola's fiction, … Continue reading The Conquest of Plassans | Émile Zola #FRAclassic
Photo by Jamie Street on UnsplashSometimes in this blogging life, the words just won't come.I have several posts on the back burner waiting for inspiration, time and for the right words to appear. In the meantime, I will fill the gaps with housekeeping posts and lists.Once upon a time, I used to join in a … Continue reading 2020 | Here We Come!
Le Ventre de Paris (also known as The Belly of Paris - a direct translation, or The Fat and the Thinreferring to one of the main ideas explored in the story) is not only an extremely visual story, but a visceral one too. Zola's descriptions of the food markets at Les Halles are colourful, very … Continue reading The Belly of Paris by Émile Zola
La Curée is the second book in Emile Zola's Rougon-Macquart series of books set during the Second Empire in France. I read it this month in honour of Fanda's #Zoladdiction2018. I have many, many thoughts about this story - I'll start off in point form - The translation of the title Haussmann the parks and … Continue reading La Curée (The Kill) By Emile Zola
April is #Zoladdiction month and this year Fanda is encouraging us to find the art in Zola's writing.Literal Painting: Zola had great interest in paintings. He had been a strong promoter of Impressionism; supported and befriended young artists such as Manet and Cézanne. His literary style often had quality of a painting. Quote and share those … Continue reading #ZolaStyle – The Bois de Boulogne in La Curee
Zoladdiction with Fanda @Classiclit is underway once again.For all the details please check out her Masterpost, but it's pretty simple really:read and enjoy all things Zola during the month of April.I've now read three Zola's thanks to Fanda and Zoladdiction.Nana was my first experience with Zola. It left me reeling and wanting more.Germinal was so good … Continue reading Zoladdiction 2018
The Artsy Reader Girl is the new host of the weekly meme Top Ten Tuesday.Each week she nominates a topic to encourage those of us who love a good list to get all listy.This week it's all about books I hope to read this spring autumn.Right now, it feels like we're a long way from autumn.Sydney is … Continue reading My Autumn Reads
Happy St David's Day! Dydd Gŵyl Dewi! The 1st of March is the National Day of Wales. You may be wondering why someone in Sydney would care about such things? My name is the first give away - Bronwyn (although my variation is a masculine Anglicized take on the traditional Welsh spelling of Bronwen). My mother's … Continue reading Stories & Shout-Outs #15
I cannot thank Fanda @Classiclit enough for once again hosting #Zoladdiction2017 - one of my favourite readalongs each year! I used this year's readalong to go back to the very beginning of the Rougon-Macquart series, a little worried that reading out of order might muck up the flow of the stories. However, reading part of Brian Nelson's … Continue reading The Fortune of the Rougons by Emile Zola
After a Zola free year in 2016, Fanda is back this April with her wonderful #Zoladdiction2017.So far I've been reading the Rougon-Macquart series out of order, but I'd like to rectify that this year, by going back to the very beginning with The Fortunes of the Rougons. First published in 1871, my Oxford English edition … Continue reading April is #Zoladdiction month!
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