Reviews

Well, this was an odd one. The Dream is the 5th book in my read of the Rougon Maquart cycle, Zola’s series of 20 novels, although it was the 16th in the order they were written.

This is the least Zola like novel I’ve read so far. The link to the rest of the series feels a bit tenuous. Angelique Rougon is the daughter of Sidonie Rougon and there the link ends! She is found penniless and alone in the snowy porch of a cathedral by Hubert and Hubertine and becomes a talented embroideress. She is innocent and lives in a fairytale dreamworld of the book she reads called the golden legend. She wants to fall in love with her Prince and live happily ever after. She meets a young man called Felicien, and they fall in love, it transpires he is loaded and effectively a prince but their marriage is blocked by his father, the monseigneur of the cathedral and Hubertine. It’s all a little odd, Angelique wastes away and after a miracle recovers to marry Felicien, only to die at the end 😱

It is full of fairytale imagery, everything is bathed in a white hue, miracles occur and I got to the end thinking I’m not quite sure what I’ve read! I enjoyed it, it was different, a little like a one off episode of your favourite series featuring only one or two characters. It was lighter, kinder and the characters for all the dreaming were in fact more 3 dimensional than in previous books. I dare say we’ll be back to the grasping full on Rougons in the next book which is The Conquest Of Plassans, but for now this was a pleasant interlude.

elisala's review against another edition

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1.0

Il y a quelques années, j'avais commencé à lire toute la série des Rougon-Macquart, dans l'ordre. Au bout d'un certain nombre de tomes, j'ai arrêté, soûlée par le style si particulier de Zola - trop, beaucoup trop d'adjectifs qualificatifs - un chagrin ne peut être que gros, un ruisseau impétueux, etc. - entre autres, par ses constantes références à ses théories sur l'hérédité - grosso modo, si tu viens d'une famille pourrie, ta vie sera pourrie (je résume, hein).
Et je me demande vraiment si justement je ne me suis pas arrêtée après le rêve, parce que plusieurs passages me rappellent vaguement quelque chose (mais peut-être n'est-ce "que" le style un peu répétitif de Zola qui me donne cette impression), et parce qu'on atteint ici le summum dans le style Zola. Trop de passion ridicule, trop de souffrance-parce-que-mon-hérédité-et-c'est-tout, trop de détermination purement héréditaire, de religion aussi, c'en devient insupportable. Je ne sais pas dans quelle mesure Zola le rédige en pur observateur extérieur et n'y met rien de son opinion, ça n'en reste pas moins un livre pénible à lire.

Toutes revenaient, [...] toutes les Mortes heureuses, aimées de la mort qui leur avait épargné la vie, en les enlevant d'un coup d'aile, très jeunes, dans le ravissement de leur premier bonheur.

(C'est moi qui met du gras) Sérieux?

Je n'ai su la vérité que très tard [Note: qu'il vient d'une famille riche]... Mais cela ne m'a pas surpris, je sentais cette grande fortune derrière moi. Tout travail régulier m'ennuyait, je n'étais bon qu'à courir les champs.

Sé.rieux?!?
Bref. Pfff.

subdue_provide75's review

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emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.75

A bit mopey for my modern sensibility. But Zola does paint humanity with a wonderful brush (see Germinal).

ikovski's review against another edition

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5.0

sonu hatrıma düştükçe kahrolur, dahası sinirlenirim.

O zaman Felicien söz dinledi, çekildi. Seviliyordu, bu isteklerinden de fazla bir şeydi. Ama, pencerenin önüne varınca döndü, genç kıza bir kere daha uzun uzun baktı; sanki ondan, beraberinde bir şey götürmek istiyordu. Şafak aydınlığına gömülü, bakışlarının bu sürekli okşayışı içinde birbirlerine gülümsüyorlardı.
Felicien, son bir defa daha:
— Sizi seviyorum, dedi. Angelique, aynı sözle karşılık verdi.
— Sizi seviyorum.

kitabın güncel bir baskısının olmaması da başka bir tartışma konusu.

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