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Mar 30, 2015lukasevansherman rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
"Zola researched his books much as though he were a journalist writing nonfiction."-from the introduction by Mark Kurlansky The prolific French novelist Emile Zola, whose major work was a series of interconnected novels called the Rougon-Macquart saga (similar to Balzac's Human Comedy). Like his predecessor Balzac, Zola strove for a greater realism in the novel and explored the external forces (economic, political, social, religious) that shape characters' lives. "The Belly of Paris" is set in a Parisian food market and its theme of "the fat and the thin" (rich and poor) still resonates today. Translated and introduced by Mark Kurlanksy, the author of "Cod" and "Salt."