tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post8425989675571439611..comments2024-03-29T03:04:00.853-05:00Comments on Wuthering <br>Expectations: Putrid Zola - don't read this post over lunchAmateur Reader (Tom)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-15384343025927281382017-09-22T02:29:32.680-05:002017-09-22T02:29:32.680-05:00It really popped out, and it has an originality th...It really popped out, and it has an originality that, say, the inset Poe-like story about the painter does not really have.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-7111414592657355302017-09-21T12:09:27.757-05:002017-09-21T12:09:27.757-05:00Zola's morgue chapter, which you've done g...Zola's morgue chapter, which you've done great justice to in your post, reminded me of that similarly-riveting chapter in Hawthorne's <em>The House of the Seven Gables</em> where the author mocked that one recently expired character at great length. Wonderful writing in both books w/all caution thrown to the wind. It is a wonder that this part of <em>Thérèse Raquin</em> gets so little play in blog reviews relatively-speaking. It's all but impossible to ignore!Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-76986178407352598722010-04-28T22:11:44.587-05:002010-04-28T22:11:44.587-05:00Rebecca - that's just what I meant by fair war...Rebecca - that's just what I meant by fair warning. I understand completely.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-87164953768971313882010-04-28T20:43:59.599-05:002010-04-28T20:43:59.599-05:00Yuck. I don't think Zola, or at least this boo...Yuck. I don't think Zola, or at least this book, is for me. Really. Nothing you've written about this book has made me want to read it in the least. <br /><br />I also can't stomach CSI for many reasons -- I get quite paranoid.Rebecca Reidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06062252252301802298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-10803157158875220972010-04-27T16:49:57.496-05:002010-04-27T16:49:57.496-05:00I knew nothing about Lourdes. Thanks for the writ...I knew nothing about <i>Lourdes</i>. Thanks for <a href="http://52annualbookreviews.blogspot.com/2010/04/three-cities-trilogy-lourdes-complete.html" rel="nofollow">the writeup</a>. I don't think that one is much read; from what you wrote, I don't see why - it seems as interesting and well-written as many fo Zola's other books.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-11458272219973381212010-04-26T21:01:12.266-05:002010-04-26T21:01:12.266-05:00For some really grotesque human illnesses and more...For some really grotesque human illnesses and more detailed description than you ever wanted about what each one does to the human body, I suggest reading Zola's "Lourdes." This is the book I read for the Classics Circuit(my first Zola book). For a brief introduction to the work (if you havent' already read it), feel free to visit http://52annualbookreviews.blogspot.comCarol Fleserieu-Millerhttp://52annualbookreviews.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-70684860506122576192010-04-24T15:57:06.834-05:002010-04-24T15:57:06.834-05:00mel - that's a promising idea. Zola wants to ...mel - that's a promising idea. Zola wants to make you complicit with the characters in his world. "I'm not an animal like them," I think. But then Zola tries to get me to feel disgust, lust, fear, or whatever, just like the characters.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-30251529207040697042010-04-23T17:23:21.985-05:002010-04-23T17:23:21.985-05:00I must make this my second Zola-in Nana as I refle...I must make this my second Zola-in Nana as I reflect on it after reading your post-you are kind of made to feel shame at your interested in Nana-to feel a kind of self disgust-I think disgust can in some cases be seen as a cathartic experience though I do not think this is what Zola intends-Mel uhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08714473754458914681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-71722473887845468162010-04-23T11:52:16.752-05:002010-04-23T11:52:16.752-05:00JoAnn, thanks for pointing out your post. First I...JoAnn, thanks for pointing out <a href="http://lakesidemusing.blogspot.com/2009/04/therese-raquin-by-emile-zola.html" rel="nofollow">your post</a>. First I thought, I must not have been looking at your blog back then. Then I realized, I didn't know about your blog at all. So thanks for that, too. You have lots of good stuff there.<br /><br />This chapter does stand out, doesn't it?Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-57141783471358323942010-04-23T07:59:00.277-05:002010-04-23T07:59:00.277-05:00I reviewed Therese Raquin last year and did quote ...I reviewed Therese Raquin last year and did quote a sentence from the morgue chapter. I've never read ANYTHING that even comes close to that - it literally turned my stomach! Anyway, I loved the book and vowed to read more Zola. Recently reviewed The Ladies' Paradise for this tour.... and I'm still not done with Zola.<br /><br />If you're interested, my review of Therese Raquin -<br />http://lakesidemusing.blogspot.com/2009/04/therese-raquin-by-emile-zola.htmlJoAnnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13691864361197071517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-57008331348056613142010-04-22T22:46:53.826-05:002010-04-22T22:46:53.826-05:00Jenny - I'm just playing along with Zola, brin...Jenny - I'm just playing along with Zola, bringing him up to date with evolutionary psychology. And you're safe now, since medicine and sanitation have removed the original evolutionary pressure.<br /><br />I've seen my share of <i>CSI</i>. But this post was based on a true story. I was eating lunch and reading this chapter, basically fine, until I got to the bit about the drowned body with the water running over it. I had to put the book down and, what, <i>recenter</i>. Then I was able to keep reading. <br /><br />Zola wants the disgust to be physical. In that list of words from the chapter, the repetition of "disgusting" is Zola's, not mine.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-73269639171115074492010-04-22T22:25:06.252-05:002010-04-22T22:25:06.252-05:00Brooke, yes, ick, yes. This is the chapter where ...Brooke, yes, ick, yes. This is the chapter where Zola pushes a boundary of taste. And it all fits perfectly with the story and with the theme of the novel. Zola uses the imagery throughout the rest of the book. He knows just what he's doing with this material. And at the same time, ick!<br /><br />nicole, as Zola 101, this book seemed to work well, and it's so short and zingy that the investment is minimal.<br /><br />And I definitely want to read more Zola, although he's not someone I'd want to choke down in large quantities, one book after the other.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-14564869940817408112010-04-22T22:24:20.207-05:002010-04-22T22:24:20.207-05:00Well, now, technically that's a disgust respon...Well, now, technically that's a disgust response to the smell of overenthusiastic bacteria (also found in spoiled food, which was already dead.) But I take your point. Dead people are still more peaceful to be around than many living people I know, however. It is clear I am destined to be culled from the herd, evolutionarily speaking.<br /><br />I do teach this book. My students are generally more focused on a) the sex b) the violence and c) the gender issues than on this chapter. They've all seen CSI and Bones; this kind of thing doesn't seem so unusual to them.Jennyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00251983804060081813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-53252783519364846132010-04-22T19:25:58.275-05:002010-04-22T19:25:58.275-05:00Your posts this week have taken me back and forth ...Your posts this week have taken me back and forth from wanting and not wanting to read this, and/or Zola, about four times now. (I'm currently on the wanting side.)<br /><br />And it's made for such a great exploration of the experimental/conceptual issues.nicolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06816358571437309223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-22882457223616304612010-04-22T18:32:52.563-05:002010-04-22T18:32:52.563-05:00Ick..Ick..Brooke from The Bluestocking Guidehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07832634751075478091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-61361802719824263132010-04-22T14:59:30.149-05:002010-04-22T14:59:30.149-05:00Jenny, it slipped my mind. You teach this book, r...Jenny, it slipped my mind. You teach this book, right? What do you do with this chapter? What do your students do with it?Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-19108606086228657212010-04-22T14:53:42.766-05:002010-04-22T14:53:42.766-05:00Dead people don't hurt anybody.
Not true. Ou...<i>Dead people don't hurt anybody.</i><br /><br />Not true. Our disgust is an evolutionary response to disease-carrying corpses. Humans who lacked the disgust gene wouldn't get away from the rotting corpses, caught horrible diseases, and died before they could reproduce. Eventually, only the disgusted remained.<br /><br />Having said that, yes, excellent point! I'm doing just what Zola wants me to do, making his book look daring and shocking and whatnot. I should pretend that I'm jaded and deny him the pleasure.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-56071491429955218342010-04-22T14:28:21.597-05:002010-04-22T14:28:21.597-05:00Oh, quit shuddering all over the place. It's j...Oh, quit shuddering all over the place. It's just the (granted, dead and squashy) human animal. Dead people don't hurt anybody. It's the living you have to watch out for. Ask Camille.<br /><br />Now, if I *were* reviewing the Marquis de Sade (which perish forfend I ever crack the spine of one of his books again)... *then* I'd warn readers.Jennyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00251983804060081813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-42883012185090544912010-04-22T10:06:31.566-05:002010-04-22T10:06:31.566-05:00Gosh - I was having a cereal bar after yoga and th...Gosh - I was having a cereal bar after yoga and thought that the lunch disclaimer probably didn't apply to me... all sounds very powerful stuff!Hannah Stonehamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11139146341592918233noreply@blogger.com