Book Description

This provocative novel by French author Émile Zola tells the story of the young artist Claude Lantier, whose passionate pursuit of beauty and artistic innovation ultimately leads him to madness and despair. Full of vivid sensory detail and psychological insight, this book is a powerful exploration of the tensions between art and life, creativity and madness, and the cruel realities of the artistic life. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.