Germinal

By: Émile Zola

Narrated by: Frederick Davidson

With flawless construction and impeccable detail, Germinal chronicles the conflicts, lusts, and deprivation of life in the coal fields of nineteenth-century France.

A father and three of seven children work brutal hours, facing such hazards as landslides, fire, and poisoned air, to scrape together enough money for food. When their lodger, Étienne, shares ideas of a workers' revolt, the family gradually embraces his plans. Soon the settlement is aflame with resolve to strike for better wages and working conditions. Savage and horrifying events ensue as miners clash with management and with each other. Where people once merely struggled for food they are now dying of starvation. The hungry wage war against the sated, against the resignation of their peers, and ultimately against hunger itself.

Published in 1885, Germinal helped establish Émile Zola as the leading figure in the French school of naturalistic fiction. This masterpiece has been called one of the ten best novels in the French language.

(P)1996 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“A great prose epic, as it has seemed to some, worthy to compare with the great verse epics of old.”

(Havelock Ellis, physician, psychologist, writer, and, social reformer)

“Zola’s novel is a fascinating document on the political movements of the time.”

(Dominique Jullien, Professor of French and Comparative Literature)

“Coal mines have become rare, but the miners of Germinal are immortal...[it] is an exquisite tribute to their work, their misery and their eventual revolt.”

(David Baguley, one of the most respected authorities on the work of Zola)

“Few readers of audiobooks can match Frederick Davidson’s remarkable skill…He’s equal to the task [of] rendering this complex, yet worthwhile, novel accessible to all listeners.”

(AudioFile)

A modern book but over a hundred years old

You may have heard about it in literary history class, but in order to really appreciate it you must read it. This is raw realism, undisguised mud, blood and sweat. People applaud writers like George RR Martin for adopting a "rough" style, but it's not a new invention. More than a hundred years ago writers like Zola turned their backs to the romantic worlds of Dickens and Dumas, got rid of the perfume and make-up, and pushed the reader out into the muck of the real world. This book could have been written yesterday and still be considered great. The fact that it's from the 19'th century makes it brilliant.

The story isn't half bad either. In fact, it's really good.

Welcome

Many have braved the unbelieveble trials that underground mining has put upon those who dare, but for the most part it was a decision made in good faith. Back in the days that Emile Zola wrote of there was no choice. He brings to light in an elequent way the sufferage that was put upon family, friends and even beasts. This is mining at its worst. As a hardrocker with 36 years I can say that it worked. Zola`s Treatise brought about many improvements for the coal miners, and after a fashion, hardrock miners as well. Few books have had so much impact.

Good story, uninteresting characters

The book tells a great story in terms of historical descriptions and details. The characters were, unfortunately, uninteresting and two-dimensional. I didn't really care about any of them, and I wasn't moved by what happened to each of them throughout. Fairly disappointing.

Amazing imagery

Zola's book about the struggles of the French working class and the labor movement in the mid-1800's is conscious raising. It reminded me of Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" in it's vivid portrayal of how working people struggled to simply put bread on the table while the bourgeoisie lived in comfort.

The reader gave an excellent performance. As is typical with male readers, he struggles with the female voice. His pronunciation of the French names were superb.

An Important Book

I can't decide if I really like this book or not. I certainly like a lot of things about it, especially the ending, but I got bogged down in it. I realize it is a classic and that everyone should read it, but it just got a little strung out for me. I think if I had been alive in the late 19th century I would have loved it, but it isn't as relevant now.

However, I totally sympathize with the plight of the working man of the time. The working conditions were deplorable and wages were so low that a man could not support his family. Not just men, but women and children, and even very old people worked in the coal mines, anyone who was able bodied enough to hold down a job. But even with two, three, or four incomes per household, these families were starving and wearing rags. And worse, they had no hope of ever having a better life. The strike depicted in this book, although it did not change things a whole lot, paved the way for later, more successful strikes that led to better working conditions and higher wages, thus the name of the book. We are all the beneficiaries of the things these people went through, and for that I am grateful.

Of course the incomparable Frederick Davidson is a fabulous narrator. I know some people consider him to be "an acquired taste," and I agree with that to a point. But he is worth the effort of getting to know and appreciate. No one reads better than he does.