May 2026 Le Ventre de Paris (The Belly of Paris) Ch 5-6 & Final Thoughts

Discussion

I liked this volume in the cycle, although it was hard to know what was going to happen and know that Florent was oblivious.

Paris made everything rot and returned everything to the earth, which never wearied of repairing the ravages of death.

I liked this one. Great descriptions of all the food and a good metaphor for the contented bourgeoise. I think it fits well here, in the recommended reading order, vs reading it third, as it was published. I know that some of the characters we met in this book are in subsequent books or related to characters coming soon, so probably best to read it closer to that. It's one of the bigger jumps for a book in this series.

Thus far, I think I like this book the best of what we have read. To me, this book is the most understated or not flying in your face condemnation of the bourgeoisie. The villains of the story are greed and complacency and I think that Lisa is the closest thing to a villain in the story, and I would hesitate to call her evil, but just acting on what she thinks is self-preservation. I think that Zola is condemning the system in this novel and not necessarily any single individual.

Finished. Greatly enjoyed the descriptions; found the plot rather thin. The petty jealousies of the women got very repetitive. Florent basically a cipher.

I have finished as well, and I think the nasty gossiping of the women and its pernicious effects are what will stay with me longest. Zola has such a low opinion of people, it would seem. I found Florent and his illusory dreams of social justice rather pathetic, to be honest. I would like to know more about the history of the Second Empire, I think it would help to appreciate the novels better.

>7 MissWatson: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…. no, wait, that was the French Revolution. But the Second Empire was also a contradictory period. Zola is the ideal chronicler of its highs and lows.

>8 booksaplenty1949: The afterword reminded the reader that he wrote this in 1872, with the shock of the Franco-Prussian War still fresh on his mind, and the anger he and his fellow-writers felt at what they considered the Emperor’s incompetence. One of these days I’ll get around to reading up on this.

>9 MissWatson: Can highly recommend The Fall of Paris by Alistair Horne.

>10 booksaplenty1949: Thanks!