2007-02-25 Disapointing

This is my first review so bare with me.

I found Zola's writing style very difficult to stomach. He certainly created two characters whose actions were very believable and their consequent reactions realistic. The problem I found was at no point did I care about the characters. While creating this unbearable atmosphere between the characters I too found myself avoiding returning home to the book. I would make excuses to avoid reading it just as Therese and Laurent would avoid coming home.

The ending was extremely disappointing. It just felt as if he ran out of ideas and made for a swift ending. Several of the chapters seemed completely surplus to requirement and added nothing to the story.

As I said, he did create two believable characters whose actions were wholly believable. Zola succeeded in creating an claustrophobic atmosphere. This said I unfortunately do not feel this was enough.
Basically, I'd never read it again and would advise against people reading it. I'll admit I am not a literary genius and so it is possible some of the quality of the writing as eluded me, however, I have to admit I regret following this through to it's conclusion.

R