L'Assommoir
Written by Emile Zola
Narrated by Leighton Pugh
4/5
()
About this audiobook
Brutal, gripping, and heart-wrenching, L'Assommoir (also known as The Drinking Den) chronicles the tragic downward spiral of Gervaise Macquart, a good-natured and hardworking laundress who slides into alcoholism and despair.
After her lover abandons her and their two children, Gervaise marries a tin worker, Coupeau, who helps her rebuild her life. She starts her own business, and the two have a daughter, Anna (the protagonist of Zola's later novel Nana). But their happiness is short-lived as a freak accident leaves Coupeau seriously injured, beginning the family's fall into alcohol, desperation, and violence.
Disturbingly realistic, L'Assommoir is a vivid portrayal of life in late 19th-century Paris.
Emile Zola
Émile Zola was a French writer who is recognized as an exemplar of literary naturalism and for his contributions to the development of theatrical naturalism. Zola’s best-known literary works include the twenty-volume Les Rougon-Macquart, an epic work that examined the influences of violence, alcohol and prostitution on French society through the experiences of two families, the Rougons and the Macquarts. Other remarkable works by Zola include Contes à Ninon, Les Mystères de Marseille, and Thérèse Raquin. In addition to his literary contributions, Zola played a key role in the Dreyfus Affair of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. His newspaper article J’Accuse accused the highest levels of the French military and government of obstruction of justice and anti-semitism, for which he was convicted of libel in 1898. After a brief period of exile in England, Zola returned to France where he died in 1902. Émile Zola is buried in the Panthéon alongside other esteemed literary figures Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas.
More audiobooks from Emile Zola
Thérèse Raquin Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bright Side of Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ladies' Paradise: Au Bonheur des Dames Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Top 10 Short Stories - The French: The top ten short stories of all time written by authors from France. Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to L'Assommoir
Related audiobooks
La Bête Humaine Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Nana Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Torrents of Spring Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Le Pere Goriot Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cousin Bette Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Masterpiece Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Germinal Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Beast in Man Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sentimental Education Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Eugenie Grandet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Red and the Black Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bel Ami Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Father Goriot Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5La Rabouilleuse, or The Black Sheep Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5La Terre: The Earth Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Europeans Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Childhood Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5La Dame aux Camélias Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Charterhouse of Parma Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Colonel Chabert Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ambassadors Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Candide and Zadig Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Aspern Papers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Madame Bovary Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Simple Soul Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSwann in Love Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Hero of Our Time Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Magic Skin Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Daisy Miller Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Red and the Black Volume 1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Classics For You
The Bell Jar Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Old Man and the Sea Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Picture of Dorian Gray: Classic Tales Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Silmarillion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Iliad: A New Translation by Caroline Alexander Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Their Eyes Were Watching God Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Fountainhead Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Perks of Being a Wallflower Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Complete Sherlock Holmes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Series of Unfortunate Events #1 Multi-Voice, A: The Bad Beginning Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Clockwork Orange Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5War & Peace - Volume I Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Pride and Prejudice: Classic Tales Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Atlas Shrugged Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Frankenstein Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Flowers in the Attic: 40th Anniversary Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Crucible Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/520,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Classic Tales Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5To Kill a Mockingbird Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Tale of Two Cities Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Legend of Sleepy Hollow: Classic Tales Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Great Gatsby Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Thousand Ships: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Schindler's List Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sense and Sensibility Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stone Blind: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Emma: Classic Tales Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Around the World in 80 Days: Classic Tales Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for L'Assommoir
7 ratings1 review
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Zola was a brilliant author sadly ill served by the translator who would not pass A level English if he turned in a script like that.