Nana by Emile Zola

Title: Nana

Author: Émile Zola

First Published: 1880

No. of Pages: 441

Synopsis (from B&N): "One of the founders of literary naturalism, Émile Zola thought of his novels as a form of scientific research into the effects of heredity and environment. He created characters, gave them richly detailed histories, and placed them in carefully observed, precisely described environments, and his readers watch as they wriggle and thrash toward their inevitable destinies.

In Nana, the characters are a prostitute, who rises from the streets to become what Zola calls a 'high-class cocotte,' and the men — and women — whom she loves, betrays, and destroys. Among the novel’s many ironies is the mutual envy felt by Nana and those around her. She yearns for their material possessions, while they admire her apparent independence and sexual self-confidence. And despite the chaos Nana causes, Zola imagines her as being essentially 'good-natured,' a stupid, vain but beautiful creature who can’t help drawing people into her web.

Not surprisingly, Nana’s portrait of a decadent world in which a prostitute amasses great wealth and power provoked protests from 'polite society,' and it became one of Zola’s most controversial works. Today it is regarded as his masterpiece."

Fiction or Nonfiction: Fiction

Comments and Critique: I liked this book immensely even though I didn't like any of the characters. They're just so well-written and fully three-dimensional; you can't help being awed by the author's talent, despite the fact that you wouldn't want to spend 10 minutes with anybody in the book. This was hard for me because I always want to like at least the central character, or if not like her, at least root for her. You can't do that here. There's so much wrong with this girl, she's so self-centered and lacking in normal human emotions that you want to slap her. And that makes you dislike the other characters even more when they're fawning all over her.

I can also understand why this book was controversial. Nana sleeps with anyone and everyone, and while the book does describe these encounters per se, it must have been quite shocking to 19th century readers. All of the characters are completely lacking in morals, including the "pillars of society." The author presents an unflattering view of society in general; I can't imagine the author was invited to dinner in certain quarters after this was published.

Challenges: 999 ("Through the Decades"); A to Z (author "Z"); Another 1%; Decades '09; Fill in the Gaps Project; Orbis Terrarum (France)