I’m back to the 1001 books list for Z, with my first Zola novel. This one is not for those of you who are fantasizing about an affair. If you are planning to kill your spouse to marry your lover, this is REALLY not the book to read. But if you just want a visit to working class Paris, well, then give it a go.
Thérèse Raquin by Émile Zola
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A bad marriage between cousins is arranged by the groom’s doting mother. He is sickly and unappealing and his cousin has been sharing a room with him since childhood. A chance meeting with an old school friend of the husband leads to the introduction of Laurent into Therese’s life. Given the state of her marriage, it is probably not surprising that she should find the man tempting. However, when Laurent’s employer makes their clandestine meetings impossible, the pair look for a way to make their arrangement more permanent. The remainder of the story traces their plan and its physical and psychological aftermath for the couple. It’s sort of a Tell-Tale Heart for Two. Zola effectively paints the tortured existence of the pair, once they have brought the plan to fruition.
Progress report:
Around the World (goal: 52 total including at least 6 in each of 6 different regions) 28
Asia/Mideast: 6 (Israel, China, Afghanistan, Japan, Iran, Pakistan)
Africa: 2 (Madagascar, Libya)
Europe: 6 (England/UK, Ireland, Monaco, Poland, Spain, Italy)
Caribbean/Central America/North America: 5 (US, Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Jamaica)
Oceania: 2 (Fiji, Marshall Islands)
South America: 1 (Brazil)
Extra: 6 (Scotland, Greece, Holland, India, Serbia, France)
Around the US (goal: 50 states, DC, and PR): 19 (AZ, CA, CO, GA, HI, IA, IN, KS, LA, MA, MI, MN, MS, NM, NJ, NY, PA, RI, WV)
1001 Books (goal 52): 22
A to Z challenge (must be completed in order–26 author last names A to Z then 26 titles A to Z–strategy is all!): 26
Authors: Auster, Beinart, Chandler, Donovan, Eugenides, Faulkner, Grau, Hosseini, Ishiguro, Joyce, King, Lewis, Murakami, Nasar, Ondaatje, Preston and Childs, Quinn, Rushdie, Scott, Trevor, Updike, Vonnegut, Wouk, Xingjian, Young, Zola YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Books:
Beth's List Love 
Congratulations on making it through the alphabet. I think that I would have ended with something by Zafon. Have you read his Cemetery of Forgotten Books series?
I’ve read 2, I think, and enjoyed them. I love some of the quotes about books and libraries in the novels. I read Zola because I really needed to work away at the 1001 list, which I’ve been neglecting. And I felt like I had been remiss in never trying Zola.