Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.
|
Loading... His Excellency Eugène Rougon (1876)by Emile Zola
   Vine Reads (31)
 japaul22 | Nov 27, 2024 |    ) Tess_W | Sep 19, 2024 | ) john257hopper | Jul 27, 2024 | Zola's Rougon-Macquart cycle follows several branches of a family over the 20 years of France's Second Empire, from 1851 to the early 1870s, and is one of the true delights of naturalist French literature. His Excellency is perhaps one of the lesser novels in the series, if only because it relies heavily on historical knowledge and a roman a clef approach to its characters, but its exploration of politics near the top of the food chain rings alarmingly true today. Eugene Rougon, mover and shaker in the court of Napoleon III, experiences a political rollercoaster over the course of several years, battered against the tides of public opinion, private malice, and personal gain. The engaging character of Clorinde is a highlight, and Zola's use of symbolism remains sublime, from a charity auction where men are bidding literally for toothpicks (more for social recognition than compassion for charity) to dogs, foaming at the mouth as they tear apart the corpse of a stag, perfectly juxtaposed with the would-be aristocrats eager to pounce on anyone whose social persona betrays even the slightest weakness. "I became what I am with the Empire. I made the Empire, and the Empire made me." What the novel does best is what Zola does best in general: examining how each individual person's fears, foibles and needs contribute to a society in decline, even when no-one can be specifically blamed for the overall problem. The pack mentality alluded to by the canine symbolism reveals the true tragedy of all imperial and fascist regimes: most people would be better off without them, but most people are only able to act for their own gain, or the gain of those in their immediate sphere, and so widespread change is hindered at every turn. The final pages especially - Eugene Rougon's stinging affirmation of the Empire - are a masterclass in political writing, and remind us (if we need it, at this point) how close 1858 is to 2018. (  )1  therebelprince | Apr 21, 2024 | ' Yes, beware of women,' Rougon repeated, pausing after each word so as to glance at his papers. ' When a woman does not put a crown on your head she slips a halter round your neck. At our age a man's heart wants as carefully looking after as his stomach.' (Kindle Locations 710-712) Then JM. Kahn, gazing blankly into the distance, murmured as though he were speaking to himself : ' A man knows when he falls, but never knows whether he will rise again.' (Kindle Locations 1053-1055) Rougon, for his part, sat back and gazed at Clorinde, and gradually fell into a dreamy state in which the girl seemed to him to expand into gigantic proportions. A woman was certainly a wonderful piece of mechanism, he reflected. It was a matter that he had never before thought of studying; but now he began to have vague mental glimpses of extraordinary intricacies. For a moment he was filled with a distinct consciousness of the power of those bare shoulders, which seemed strong enough to shake a world. (Kindle Locations 1365-1368) The great man had never before tasted such complete contentment. He felt well and strong, and was putting on flesh. Health had come back to him with his return to power. (Kindle Locations 4509-4510) They had thronged around him, hung on to his knees, then to his breast, then to his throat, and finally they had choked him. They had availed themselves of him in every way. They had used his feet to climb with, his hands to plunder with, his jaws to devour with. They had, so to say, used his body as their own, used it for their personal gratification, indulging in every fancy without a thought of the morrow. And now, having drained his body, and hearing its frame-work crack, they abandoned him like rats, whom instinct warns of the approaching collapse of a house, the foundations of which they have undermined. (Kindle Locations 7197-7202) ' Ah ! ' said she (Clorinde), 'in spite of everything, you (Rougon) are a wonderfully able fellow !' (Kindle Location 7721) (  ) NewLibrary78 | Jul 22, 2023 | no reviews | add a review
Is contained in
'He loved power for power's sake . . . He was without question the greatest of the Rougons.' His Excellency Eug�ne Rougon (1876) is the sixth novel in Zola's twenty-volume Rougon-Macquart cycle. A political novel set in the corridors of power and in the upper echelons of French Second Empire society, including the Imperial court, it focuses on the fluctuating fortunes of the authoritarian Eug�ne Rougon, the "vice-Emperor." But it is more than just a chronicle. It plunges the reader into the essential dynamics of the political: the rivalries, the scheming, the jockeying for position, the ups and downs, the play of interests, the lobbying and gossip, the patronage and string-pulling, the bribery and blackmail, and, especially, the manipulation of language for political purposes. The novel's themes--especially its treatment of political discourse--have remarkable contemporary resonance. His Excellency Eug�ne Rougon is about politics everywhere. No library descriptions found. 
|
Current DiscussionsNovember 2024 His Excellency, Eugene Rougon Preface, Ch 1-3 in Emile Zola Group Read Popular covers
 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)843.8Literature French & related literatures French fiction Later 19th century 1848–1900LC ClassificationRatingAverage: (3.69)
Is this you?Become a LibraryThing Author. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
His Excellency Eugene Rougon by Zola
Wikipedia in English
1
Eugene Rougon is all about power. As France itself has power shifts, Rougon's power ebbs and flows as well. Most of the book is about political machinations, and people trying to use others to further themselves. There is one very memorable character, Clorinde. Clorinde is a young woman who has positioned herself to be around powerful men and to be admired by them. Her ambitions are high and she intends to attain them. As with many of Zola's characters, especially the women, she has plenty of quirks to make her memorable and special.
This book was fine, but it never grabbed me and didn't have the shock value that I have come to expect and love from Zola. (