A review by sarah_dietrich
Germinal by Émile Zola

4.0

I loved the opening scene with Etienne arriving by night, looking out over the fires of industry dotting the apocalyptic plain. This had a similar feeling to Blood Meridian. The bulk of the plot is the hardships of the impoverished coalminers, and has obvious parallels with The Road to Wigan Pier, but it reminded me more of Les Miserables. A good read, would like to read more Zola.