The Belly of Paris

Paris is the last volume in the Three Cities trilogy and was first published in 1898. After the struggle I had with the previous volume, Rome, (see here and here) I did wonder if I would ever finish the trilogy; but I have. Even the first volume in the series, Lourdes, was a bit of a struggle. The m......more

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars A turn of the century thriller that shouldn't be missed., February 15, 2000 Paris is the third volume of the Three Cities trilogy that began with Lourdes and continued with Rome. Published in 1898, Paris is Zola's summation of the......more

the real tragedy of this book is that the most interesting characters (hyacinthe, victor mathis, the revolutionary and mercenary gang) are brushed off as insignificant examples of the parisian vice and vanity. like, sir, i really don’t care about pure feelings and family and patriotism.... give me t......more

I finished the five-volume series of 'Paris' around January 1. There are two other cities associated with this: Lourdes and Rome. So far, Paris is the best. I started to read Lourdes but I found it depressing. I might go back to it. Père Froment is a great central character. He's lost his faith in th......more

Zola is one of my favorite writers and the themes of this book truly spoke to me. Paris tells the story of a young priest who struggles with the loss of his faith, exacerbated by the social ills he witnesses and, despite his efforts, can’t seem to do anything about. Like most of his novels, this boo......more