Emile Zola

Reading them in sequence after reading the first one was helpful as there is some continuity - but hardly necessary - the books stand well on their own.

I found them compelling and unforgettable - but not as good in translation as in French.

I'd like to recommend "Au Bonheur Des Dames" (in english as "The Ladies Paradise") from the series as being one of my favorites.

recently discovered this. i have but haven't read Germinal and was looking up the book that the film Human Desire was based on (bete humaine) and, hey ho, here's a set of 20 books and i do love a list.

Oxford World Classics has translated all of them recently, surprisingly the first full translation since 18xx, which was half-arsed by all accounts. penguin has 8 or so of them, much cheaper. but they are all 600+ pages. i should read the one i already have, see how it goes.

my favourite writer!

I attempted to blog my way through Les Rougon-Macquart a while back, here's the ones I got through

introduction

#1 – La Fortune des Rougon (1871)

#2 – La Curée (1871-2)

#3 – Le Ventre de Paris (1873)

#4 – La Conquête de Plassans (1874)

#5 – La Faute de l’abbé Mouret (1875)

fuck off gareth

i think you might have more choice of translation now

https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/series/oxford-world-s-classics-12

https://www.penguin.co.uk/search-results?tab=books&q=Emile-Zola&x9=author&q9=Emile-Zola 7 here

Haven't read his books, but was recently impressed by his heroic part in the Dreyfus Affair, which may have cost him his life---see epic wiki article on the Affair.