by Emile Zola
The ninth book in the Rougon Macquart series.
This is one of the best known of Zola's novels, not least for the allegations of pornography when first published. Now, more than 100 years later it still has the ability to shock in its depiction of a society rotting beneath a facade of respectability.
I did not enjoy this as much as some of his books as I found it difficult to differentiate some of the characters early on but still a good read. 7/10
