
Today's Featured Book:
Thérèse Raquin
by Émile Zola
Genre: Fiction
Published: 1867
Page Count: 211 pages
Summary:
Set in the claustrophobic atmosphere of a dingy haberdasher's shop in the passage du Pont-Neuf in Paris, this powerful novel tells how the heroine and her lover, Laurent, kill her husband, Camille, but are subsequently haunted by visions of the dead man and prevented from enjoying the fruits of their crime.
At the end of the Rue Guenegaud, coming from the quays, you find the Arcade of the Pont Neuf, a sort of narrow, dark corridor running from the Rue Mazarine to the Rue de Seine. This arcade, at the most, is thirty paces long by two in breadth. It is paved with worn, loose, yellowish tiles which are never free from acrid damp. The square panes of glass forming the roof, are black with filth.
On fine days in the summer, when the streets are burning with heavy sun, whitish light falls from the dirty glazing overhead to drag miserably through the arcade. On nasty days in winter, on foggy mornings, the glass throws nothing but darkness on the sticky tiles—unclean and abominable gloom.
Zola, Émile. Theresa Raquin (p. 1). Kindle Edition.
Camille lay asleep close at hand. This poor creature, with his body twisted out of shape, displaying his lean proportions, was gently snoring. Under the hat, half concealing his face, could be seen his mouth contorted into a silly grimace in his slumber. A few short reddish hairs on a bony chin sullied his livid skin, and his head being thrown backward, his thin wrinkled neck appeared, with Adam's apple standing out prominently in brick red in the centre, and rising at each snore. Camille, spread out on the ground in this fashion, looked contemptible and vile.
Laurent who looked at him, abruptly raised his heel. He was going to crush his face at one blow.
Zola, Émile. Theresa Raquin (p. 56). Kindle Edition.
This is my fifth book by Zola, and all five---Thérèse Raquin, Germinal, L'Assommoir, The Belly of Paris, and Nana---are bleak and present a view of human nature as dark and selfish. Four of the five---Thérèse Raquin, Germinal, L'Assommoir, and Nana---are on the list of on the list of the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. Thérèse Raquin may be the bleakest of the five books I've read so far.
There are some spoilers in the summary in the paragraph below:
Thérèse Raquin is taken in to raise by her aunt, and she grows up with her weak and sickly cousin Camille. The aunt encourages the cousins to marry when they are of age, and they do so. But Thérèse is bored with her life until she meets Camille's friend, Laurent. Laurent and Thérèse have a torrid affair, and they both begin to long for Camille to die so they can live together "in peace." Laurent kills Camille, but they never experience their longed-for peace.
From the descriptions of the setting to the descriptions of the characters to the plot itself---everything in this story is grim and brutal. Zola is always completely truthful, though, so it's a truth that is hard to look at, but also somehow necessary, if it can be tolerated.
The purpose of THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, and befriend other bloggers. THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is hosted by Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer.
July 18th - 24th - What is your opinion on modern artists' interpretations of deceased authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, Louisa May Alcott, Charles Dickens, and Jane Austen? Do you think these interpretations represent the authors correctly, or do they disrespect the authors? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer)
I think we know a lot more about dead authors now than we did long ago. More information can't do anything but tell us more about the authors, though it might not always be flattering.
How it worked: I picked up a crawl card at Then & Now Bookstore in Galveston, one of the 25 participating stores. I got my card stamped or signed by each of the stores I visited through the end of April. Once I visited 10, I submitted my card to any of the participating bookstores to be entered into a raffle for gifts. Every store I hit after the first 10 counts as an additional entry. The cards had to be turned in by the end of business on April 30.
Basket Books & Art · Blue Willow Bookshop · Books Abound · The Book Attic · Books by the Bay · The Book Readers Venue · Brazos Bookstore · Buy the Book · Candescent Books · CLASS Bookstore · Copperfield's Books · Dreamers Books + Culture · Good Books in the Woods · Good on Paper Books and Stationery · Gulf Coast Cosmos Comics · Houston Book Warehouse · Kaboom Books · Katy Budget Books · Kindred Stories · LIT bookbar · LIT Java Coffee & Books · Mossrose Bookshop · Murder by The Book · Then & Now Bookshop · Village Books
I visited twelve bookstores in April.
Here is my eleventh bookstore:
One of the largest and oldest mystery specialty bookstores in the US is Murder by the Book, originally established in 1980. There are over 25,000 books -- new & used, hardbacks & paperbacks, first editions, collectibles, gift items, and more. The store hosts more than 200 of the biggest mystery, crime, and fantasy authors for book signing events every year. In the past, Murder by the Book has hosted Dick Francis, P.D. James, Sue Grafton, Robert Crais, Michael Connelly, Patricia Cornwell, James Lee Burke, and Daniel Silva.
2342 Bissonnet
Houston, TX 77005
I visited Murder by the Book as the event was winding down on a Tuesday morning.
I chose one of the old Ann Cleeves mysteries, this one set in High Island near me.
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.
Remembering Paris by Denis Tillinac
A Bakery in Paris by Aimee Runyon
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Maigret (1992) on BritBox.
Maigret (2018) on BritBox.