Original Language: French
Publisher: G. Charpentier
Country: France
Publication Date: 1885
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 592
Synopsis
The thirteenth novel in Émile Zola’s great Rougon-Macquart sequence, Germinal expresses outrage at the exploitation of the many by the few, but also shows humanity’s capacity for compassion and hope. Etienne Lantier, an unemployed railway worker, is a clever but uneducated young man with a dangerous temper. Forced to take a back-breaking job at Le Voreux mine when he cannot get other work, he discovers that his fellow miners are ill, hungry, and in debt, unable to feed and clothe their families. When conditions in the mining community deteriorate even further, Lantier finds himself leading a strike that could mean starvation or salvation for all.
Review
The title, Germinal, is drawn from the springtime seventh month of the French Revolutionary Calendar and is meant to evoke imagery of germination, new growth and fertility.
It is hard not to be moved by the plight of the French coal miners whose story is told in Zola’s Germinal. They are exploited by the mining company they work for, and live in terrible squalor and hereditary indignity. They are only vaguely aware of their situation - that they should expect more - given that it has been 70 or so years since the “glorious” French Revolution.
The main character, Etienne, comes to the northern town of Montsou and we see the squalor of the miner’s life through his eyes. When the miners go on strike in retaliation against a sneaky wage cut, this idealistic young Parisian becomes their leader. Unfortunately his oratory and half-baked socialism whip the miners up into such a frenzy that they go on the rampage. The strike degenerates into an irrational attempt to ruin the company that provides their only source of employment.
The saddest moment in the novel comes when the strikers attack a modern neighbouring mine, which is owned by a hardworking, risk-taking entrepreneur who treats his workers fairly. The attack kills workers and ruins the owner, who eventually has to sell out to the company against which the workers are striking.
I enjoyed this raw, moving novel – though it is quite sad!
Summary
A great book based on the class struggle, Zola also investigates the tactical differences between socialist oriented, working class union organising and the more circumspect anarchist tactic, 'the propaganda of the deed'
Reading level :adult
Rating : 5 stars
