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Germinal (Oxford World's Classics) Reissue Edition

by Émile Zola (Author), Peter Collier (Author), Robert Lethbridge (Introduction)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 252 ratings
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Zola's masterpiece of working life, Germinal (1885), exposes the inhuman conditions of miners in northern France in the 1860s. By Zola's death in 1902 it had come to symbolize the call for freedom from oppression so forcefully that the crowd which gathered at his State funeral chanted "Germinal! Germinal!"

While it is a dramatic novel of working life and everyday relationships, Germinal is also a complex novel of ideas, given fresh vigor and power in this new translation. It is also the thirteenth book in the Rougon-Macquart cycle, which celebrates its centenary in October 1993 with a new film version of Germinal starring Gerard Depardieu.

About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
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  1. ISBN-10
    9780199536894
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0199536894
  3. Edition
    Reissue
  4. Publisher
    Oxford University Press
  5. Publication date
    September 1, 2008
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    7.6 x 1.1 x 5 inches
  8. Print length
    576 pages
  9. See all details
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From the Publisher

oxford world's classics, literature, novels, myths, celebrated writing
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Editorial Reviews

Review

'masterpiece' Oxford Times'A good translator uses the language of his day; the original text remains fixed, but translations must move with the times. Collier's, though differing from, and not always improving on, Tancock's, is likely to have the same startling effect on the reader coming fresh to it today as his prdecessor's had forty years ago.' F.W.J. Hemmings, French Studies, Vol. 48, Part 4

Book Description

A new edition of Zola's masterpiece of working life

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0199536899
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press; Reissue edition (September 1, 2008)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 576 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780199536894
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0199536894
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 13 years and up
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.6 x 1.1 x 5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 252 ratings

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Emile Zola

Emile Zola

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
252 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Delaney
5.0 out of 5 stars FANTASTIC READ!
Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2021
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I had to read this book for a college course, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it. Émile Zola's talent is BREATHTAKING!! This and Zola's open letter "J'Accuse…!" will always have a place in history as groundbreaking, eloquently written and a great read in order to understand the time period he wrote in/attempted to capture (my opinion at least). Good price from seller too.
2 people found this helpful
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PRL
5.0 out of 5 stars A literary masterpiece
Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2016
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A visceral, powerfully moving and gripping book. I am a voracious reader and I had to make room for Germinal in my top ten favorite books of all time list. This is a book that makes you feel anger and disgust and heartbreak and even awesome respect for the downtrodden. I will read much more Zola, I can say for certain.
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Kindle Widower
5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic
Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2014
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Germinal is a piece of good, old-fashioned literature. The description of and the insight into the characters is remarkable. The reader also learns so much about the mines and the horrible plight of the mine workers - worse than one could ever imagine. The suffering of the workers is painful to read about (especially when described so well). I highly recommend it as a change from so many of the predictable, trite books that are on the market.
3 people found this helpful
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Gryphonisle
4.0 out of 5 stars Fast Paced, Quick Starting Read That Keeps Its Audience In The Swim.
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2013
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If you're in a class, or just need to up your dose of Culture, and it's come down to a choice of Dead White Men, I'd take Zola over Melville, any day. I have some questions about this translation, however; and the quality of this binding wasn't exactly the best, either. By the end, the last few pages kept falling out of the book. On the other hand, if you're going to translate a book about coal miners in France, who better than a person named Collier?

For a book as old as this one (1885, taking place in 1866) it comes across as remarkably fresh. One citizen reviewer complained of the archaic writing---indicating that they either read another edition, or don't fare well with British english. The writing in this edtion is quite modern, and very British. Guys hang with their "mates"; people are told to "Bugger off". I don't think the French translates so clearly British. It wouldn't be any better if they were calling each other "Dudes" and saying "Go F yourself". I'm not familiar with the standards of translation, but I've read other translations, of other books, most recently "Love In The Time Of Cholera", and the native language and it's poetry were much more intact.

The Story takes off in the first couple of pages and never lets up. Where many writers would write up to the strike The way Celine Dion sings a song, Zola sort of slouches towards it. He illustrates the lives of his cast in rich, and often horrifying detail. He shows us where and how they live, how they sleep, and how they work in the Dante-esque conditions of 19th century French mines. And then, he switches to the lives of the Bourgeoisie (here the comfortable familes whose small fortunes derive from earlier investments in the mines, and as such, they don't work) and so does his language as it describes the warm, complacent, sunny comfort of their existence in the pays noir. When the Strike finally occurs, it happens while we're turning pages, between two parts of the book. It's already on, when we, and one of the mining share holder families finds out about it.

The miners are a sad lot, and Zola doesn't glamorize them. They don't make any money in good times, and the company protects its profits in bad times by cutting their wages to starvation levels (one sandwich of bread and butter, for 10 hours underground, in back breaking, toxic conditions) and so they partake in the one thing that's available to them for free: Sex. The kids are having sex all over the book. Babies are having babies, so 8 year olds work in the mines. With all this excess labor available, and desperation so acute, it's no wonder Capitalism is harsh and exploitive. It's here that Zola and Steinbeck part ways and stare across the fence at each other. Where Steinbeck lionized his impoverished characters, and often treated them like saints and sages, Zola isn't so kind. There are no saints in this book, just sinners in varying degrees, at different stages. Zola shows the physical folly of his characters lives, and then climbs into their minds to expose their vanity, their ignorance, their complacency. In short, the miners are as responsible for the misery of their lives as the bourgeoisie. Without any forgiveness due the latter. By the end of the book, the miners have let down the reader almost as much as the share holders have screwed the miners.

I see they've made a movie, and with Gerard Depardieu no less. From Zolas description, it must be hilarious to see one of France's most obese actors waddling through mine shafts that starving, stunted, fifteen year old kids can barely manage. I'll get back to you on that.

Given the subject matter, and the unhappy ending (it's no spoiler, unless you came to the book without any historical knowlege of the era) a lot of people, and probably students at that, seem to think the book is sad. It isn't. That's the odd thing. Zola was writing when the first glimmer of hope for the working man could be seen on the near horizon. The story takes place twenty years earlier, when that hope was little more than a dream, at the beginning of the struggle for workers rights. While his story reflects a sense of hopeless desperation among the miners, it also reflects Zola's own idea that, eventually, the worker would have his day. And as a result, Zola spends much of the book developing his characters, examining them and their motivations; their vanity, their greed, their complacency, their beliefs one way or the other. Thus, while the most dramatic part of the book does indeed come across as every bit as dramatic as it should, much of the rest of the book is oddly quiet, about lives lived in small worlds and even smaller internal spaces.

And believe me, this book, at its worst, isn't nearly as sad as Reality, where it took another eighty years from the 1860s, to see the workers finally gain something akin to parity with the bosses, and that only lasted for twenty five years or so. Now, we're right back where Zola's characters are, in the sense of realizing the importance of organization. We don't. Worse, many working folks----way too many of them retired for more than a decade, on pensions no longer available to their children or grand children----are turning against everything socialist, and favoring the working man; motivated by an inner rage against the slights of a perceived Liberal Elite; and the trumped up evils of minorities and immigrants; all of it seen through a retirement that wasn't as golden as they'd hoped, just a long slow road to the grave, pinching pennies as before. Zola had no idea it would come to this.

Having recently waded half way into "Moby Dick" and stepped out for some fresh air, I would enthusiastically steer you towards Zola. So much easier, so much more interesting, and compelling, a read. I do question the quality of this translation, again, a French novel should still read like a French novel, not a British (or American) novel with French characters, in France. And, if you read it in public, those who aren't familiar with Zola will think you're so cultured, and here you are reading about fifteen year olds having sex! Vive La France! Vive La Culture!
7 people found this helpful
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Dolores
5.0 out of 5 stars Quick delivery of a classic
Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2022
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Any problems I would have would be with Emile Zola, package was delievered perfectly and punctually.
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Carol Breslin
5.0 out of 5 stars A classic critique
Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2019
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A brilliant novel that depicts in vivid and painful detail the deprivation and suffering of French coal miners in the late nineteenth century. If you like Dickens, you will probably like this work by Zola.
2 people found this helpful
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Mark
3.0 out of 5 stars Slow, hard going with powerful memorable scenes
Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2015
This book about strife and revolt in French mines in the 19th century is hard to rate. It is a slow, depressing read, but life in those horrendous conditions did come alive to me. It has a very authentic feel. Individual scenes are very powerful. For me, the problem is that I found it hard to keep many characters straight and so there were just a handful of characters I cared about. It also was too slow and repetitive, and I confess I skimmed much of the second half of this book. While I can see why so many praise this novel, it did not work as a whole for me. Still, I'm glad I waded into this novel. My three star rating is an average of how much I liked this (not much) and how impressive parts are (a lot).
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Geena Van Dorsen
5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorites
Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2014
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Reminded me a bit of The Molly McGuires. A great book about fighting back against oppression, particularly the kind that is painted as 'opportunity.' I can see why it had become a kind of battlecry for the real world miners of that era. Every so often a book has that kind of power (similar to Uncle Tom's Cabin) which rallies people, galvanizes ideas and begins instituting change. This book has a great relevance to modern times (as do all great books).
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Top reviews from other countries

Juan Manuel Loya Del Valle
5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible
Reviewed in Mexico on September 28, 2020
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Excellent edition for this amazing book. Great notes and the translation is very well done.
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sanjib kumar sarkar
5.0 out of 5 stars Every literature lover,s choise
Reviewed in India on August 13, 2018
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Previously I read the novel in Bengali.It was great experience then to discover such a great work of world literature. This time it,s language is English.Very good caring translation .Easy to read .
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Sean Gilligan
5.0 out of 5 stars Should be required reading for all politicians on the make
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 15, 2016
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If it hadn't been part of my Open University syllabus, I might never have got round to reading this visceral account of a mining community and its struggle for justice and liberation in post-revolutionary France. I had read three of Zola's novels, and pretty harrowing they were too - as was this, what many consider to be his masterpiece. It made me appreciate, albeit dimly, the back-breaking work of my father, a miner in mid-twentieth-century England; whether conditions were quite as unforgiving as they are portrayed here I'll never know, since he's been dead a long time, but the desperation of a community that refuses to be crushed even as the literal and figurative mines collapse on them is palpable, and certainly made me count my blessings in my modest but comfortable abode. The account of the moral decay and regression that extreme, unremitting poverty can foster is unflinching - a few incidents described here are truly atrocious; and the jury's still out on Zola's own moral standpoint and just what he means to achieve with his "naturalist" method (in fact I'm doing an assignment on it as we speak). Character certainly gives way to events in this as in other writings of Zola, and perhaps that is the greatest lesson of his work: that even the best of us, like the idealist Etienne and the loyal-hearted Catherine, could be driven to unspeakable degradation if pushed too far. It should be required reading for anyone aspiring to a career in 'public service', the euphemism for politicians on the make. The translation is a lively one, though it contains a few suspiciously modern idioms - but still, they don't detract from the spirit of this relentless novel.
13 people found this helpful
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Mrs. Judith Lugg
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books ever written
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 19, 2006
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I first read this when I was about 12 years old (in an English translation, I hasten to add) as I had run out of reading matter and came across this book in my grandfather's study.

I am now 62 years of age, but have never forgotten the initial impact this made on me. Somehow Zola's writing is so descriptive and evocative that one feels that one is really there in the suffering and squalor along with the characters. The suffering and social deprivation of those times is quite unbelievable as we look back over 150 years.

I do not know who translated that edition but I have read it in the original French since, where it is even more

moving.

If you haven't read it, please do, you'll be glad you did and, as someone else wrote in review, it could even change your life or, at the very least give you much pause for thought.
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M. Radulescu
5.0 out of 5 stars masterpiece
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 29, 2022
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Zola is a true genius. But it is one of the most depressing books I’ve ever read. The hopeful ending doesn’t make up for the grim content. When you think it can’t get any worse it does. But worth reading nonetheless.
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