Zola's

And Emile Zola's Germinal, with its abused working class.

Dave Astor: The French Connection Between Old Books and Current Events Dave Astor 2011

The bedroom scenes in Balzac's The Magic Skin and Zola's Nana and The Beast in Man may not be quite "NC-17," but they're certainly a solid "R"!

Dave Astor: The French Connection Between Old Books and Current Events Dave Astor 2011

And Emile Zola's Germinal, with its abused working class.

Dave Astor: The French Connection Between Old Books and Current Events Dave Astor 2011

Zola's interconnected, "naturalistic" novels came under the heading of the Rougon-Macquart series -- after the multigenerational family branches depicted in a cycle of 20 books.

Dave Astor: The French Connection Between Old Books and Current Events Dave Astor 2011

At the time, I reacted by writing an op-ed entitled "I accuse" modeled, of course, on Emile Zola's famous letter to the President of the French Republic.

Carlo Strenger: Orthodox Anti-Semitism Directed At Israel's Liberals Carlo Strenger 2011

The bedroom scenes in Balzac's The Magic Skin and Zola's Nana and The Beast in Man may not be quite "NC-17," but they're certainly a solid "R"!

Dave Astor: The French Connection Between Old Books and Current Events Dave Astor 2011

And Zola's Ladies' Delight, in which a "big box" store crushes mom-and-pop businesses.

Dave Astor: The French Connection Between Old Books and Current Events Dave Astor 2011

Zola's letter was written about the Dreyfus affair -- the notorious anti-Semitic accusation.

Carlo Strenger: Orthodox Anti-Semitism Directed At Israel's Liberals Carlo Strenger 2011

For instance, painter Claude Lantier is a secondary character in Zola's The Belly of Paris before Claude's somewhat older self becomes the main protagonist in Zola's The Masterpiece -- one of the best books ever written about a "starving artist" starved for recognition.

Dave Astor: The French Connection Between Old Books and Current Events Dave Astor 2011

For instance, painter Claude Lantier is a secondary character in Zola's The Belly of Paris before Claude's somewhat older self becomes the main protagonist in Zola's The Masterpiece -- one of the best books ever written about a "starving artist" starved for recognition.

Dave Astor: The French Connection Between Old Books and Current Events Dave Astor 2011