Welcome to Litsy!

The excellent Backlisted podcast prompted me to pick up this cheerful little tale of stunted lives and murderous lust among the shopkeepers and petty clerks of Gay Paree. Even in translation, the power of Zola's descriptions is remarkable - the scenes in the Morgue, for example, would put Stephen King to shame.

I always thought that I would have liked Émile Zola... and so it is!
This book is a brutal but accurate portrait of a woman of nervous temperament that get in intimate touch with a man of sanguine temperament.
Most of all, I loved the writing style! Direct but evocative 🤩

#20in4 #readathon @Andrew65

#20in4 for the #readathon by @Andrew65 reached!
But #ThereseRaquin is not finished yet, so I keep going 😎🤟🏻

My progress 'till now for the #20in4 #readathon by @Andrew65

Hope to finish #ThereseRaquin within today 🤟🏻🤓

I didn't read so much today, only 6 chapters of the tagged book 😔
I will read few pages before going to sleep 🤟🏻

Update: read 2 more chapters of #mysisterskeeper

#20in4 #readathon @Andrew65 #EmileZola #ThereseRaquin

the conflicts the characters were going through in this book was explained flawlessly! 100% recommended

I am so thankful for a hot Oscar Isaac gif on Twitter for leading me to read this gem today. 😅

Deliciously dark, with a pervasive atmosphere of dread and loneliness which made me think often (and fondly) of Poe‘s The Tell-Tale Heart. Full of completely unlikeable characters, well-written, and pretty much a perfect gothic-type read.

I‘m off to watch In Secret now. 😬

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

#1001books

I mean, I didn‘t have to passively participate in a murder or anything to discover this, but...

#BeenThereDoneThat

I already had a healthy appreciation for Oscar Isaac, but earlier I was scrolling around Twitter, minding my own business, when I saw this tweet (don‘t click if you‘re easily offended by potty mouth and sexy stuff, but it‘s not THAT bad):

https://twitter.com/rdotspoon/status/1215859401162051584?s=21

So anyway, I saw that this movie is based on a book on my TBR, and now I‘m halfway through it so that I can watch the movie. And WOW. 🔥🤤

I chose this book on a whim and, though much of the plot, societal criticism, and dark humor is predictable, it breaks from expected storytelling norms in other satisfying ways. Plus, Kate Winslet did a fantastic job reading it.

I loved the thought process of each character throughout the entire book. I also loved the language used especially. The storyline was utterly fascinating. Once I completed the book, I watched the BBC 3 Part Series, then listened to the audiobook again. Fantastic story and storytelling!!

Welp, a couple picture taking fails and then collage making fails later, this is not very legible, but it is another #litsyatoz in the books!

If Eastenders was set in France in the 1800s and lacked subplots. I freaking loved it.

Melodrama abounds and in the heat of the moment I am in the action. Until. Within half a page I encounter not one but two words I‘m pretty sure are made up.

What a creepy tale! #serialreader

#MayLovesClassics #mostgruesomecrimescene
Anyone reading this in the challenge please look away now as the post contains spoilers - a nice boating trip on the seine becomes a murder scene and horrified 19th century french readers.

“How sweet was that quiescent silence, in which they could listen to the pulsing of hearts, and bask in the delight of a dream of everlasting love!” Emile Zola

This book is insanely intense—it‘ll definitely make you feel something, but it‘s not a good feeling at all. I love that the guilt is the undoing of the characters even though they “get away” with their crime.

#litsyclassics #litsyclassicsmatches

@RebelReader @Ole

My #TBR and #MostAnticipated not too many since I was on a book buying ban! I don't pick out books to read for a month because I never stick with it 😂 also I may have bought 4 books today 😅 #AwesomeAutumnBook #FallIntoBooks #AutumnReads
(Sorry for image quality cropping makes titles hard to read sometimes)

The quality of the writing is without question - not for nothing is it a classic of French literature (i.e the control of the language, the tightness, the sparseness, the accuracy of description, the illusions and metaphors - all a class above) But what a horrid little tale - vile characters, grim lives, monstrous acts, no joy, no redemption, no let up in the misery .... fantastically entertaining stuff! Appealed to the Gothic lover in me.

Oh, the drama of adultery and its consequences! One of my favourite themes! This one shocked France at the time of its publication (1867), an effect it didn't have on me in 2014. Nevertheless, a real page-turner, described so visual that I can visualize most settings and scenes as if it were a movie. #1001books

Gloomy and dark.
#thereseraquin #emilezola #bookstagram #bibliophile

#characters2017 #deadlypassions
These two classics definitely contain deadly passions, and having referenced my love of hardy heroines earlier i had to include my favourite Tess of the d'urbevilles.

Wow! This book was depressing but so good. The first half reminded me of Poe's Tell Tale Heart and the second half reminded me of a Shakespearean tragedy. #litsyatoz #letterz @BookishMarginalia

I'm reading this next for my "z". Have any of you read this?

He knew that, from now on, every day would be alike, that they would all bring the same sufferings. And he saw the weeks, the months, the years that awaited him, gloomy and implacable, coming one after the other, falling on him and suffocating him bit by bit. When the future is without hope, the present takes on a vile, bitter taste.

I didn't enjoy this and I really don't know why. Sex, murder and destructive relationships should be fun, sad and completely compelling but I just found Therese and Laurent seriously annoying.

So this was a major milestone for me this past year. I read Therese Raquin in spanish in October and absolutely loved it. Best book I'd read in a while. I decided to choose it for one of my book clubs in March, and wanted to try reading it in its original french (I had taken lessons throughout my school years). Well, I did it! First book I've ever read in french (with a little help from kindle!) #translation #septphotochallenge #somethingforsept

Like 'The Twits' for grown ups.