If you're interested in learning a little something about the political and social climate in France in the years after the French Revolution of 1789 this is probably a good choice. I learned that this is the first in a series of twenty (20!!!!) books by [author:Émile Zola|4750] about the Rougon-Macquart family. This first volume introduces the reader to this delightful clan and establishes the reasons for the jealousies and bitterness that (I assume) carry on through the rest of the series.
On the up side, Zola succeeds in giving what appears to be an accurate picture of the fear and instability that existed in France after the Revolution. Not surprisingly, there was a power vacuum which was ultimately and famously filled by Napoleon and the establishment of the French Empire. But in the interim there was plenty of back-stabbing and power-grabbing. And that's where the Rougon-Macquart family comes in.
The rest of the series might have been a candidate for my "to-read" list except that these people are, almost without exception, among the most greedy, grasping, corrupt and altogether unattractive bunch I've ever encountered via the written word. So I really can't imagine sticking with this series.
But for you history buffs and Francophiles -- this might be the series you've been looking for.
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