The Dream

A very different kind of story from Zola that's closer to magical realism than his usual Naturalism. It's also the shortest novel in the 20 book Rougon-Macquart series. I especially liked the extensive end notes which are much more thorough than most of the other Zola Oxford World's Classics editions. I wish the editors had used this translator's (Paul Gibbard) notes as a template for all the novels.

Well, this was an odd one. The Dream is the 5th book in my read of the Rougon Maquart cycle, Zola’s series of 20 novels, although it was the 16th in the order they were written.This is the least Zola like novel I’ve read so far. The link to the rest of the series feels a bit tenuous. Angelique Rougon is the daughter of Sidonie Rougon and there the link ends! She is found penniless and alone in the snowy porch of a cathedral by Hubert and Hubertine and becomes a talented embroideress. She is innocent and lives in a fairytale dreamworld of the book she reads called the golden legend. She wants to fall in love with her Prince and live happily ever after.It is full of fairytale imagery, everything is bathed in a white hue, miracles occur and I got to the end thinking I’m not quite sure what I’ve read! I enjoyed it, it was different, a little like a one off episode of your favourite series featuring only one or two characters. It was lighter, kinder and the characters for all the dreaming were in fact more 3 dimensional than in previous books. I dare say we’ll be back to the grasping full on Rougons in the next book which is The Conquest Of Plassans, but for now this was a pleasant interlude.

I am slowly learning to not doubt and put my faith in Zola's writing. Following a ponderous start, this short novel builds to a stunning crescendo that leaves a lasting, profound impression. It is the story of a simple, abandoned girl, Angélique, who is taken in by a childless couple of master embroiderers who live in the shadow of a great cathedral. She lives a simple life, becomes entranced with an ancient book of saints and has a dream of enduring, perfect love. With Angélique, Zola creates an allegorical tale of St. Agnes, who vowed to God to maintain her purity. She seeks chaste love and finds it with the aristocratic Félicien. Their love, however, faces many obstacles of heredity, social class mores and religion. In many ways, the conclusion reminds me of a Catholic version of Isaac Bashevis Singer's stories of love.The Dream is chronologically the 16th of the 20 novels of the Rougon-Macquart cycle but the 5th in the recommended reading order suggested by Zola. It is very much a departure of the tenor of the other novels, but very much worth reading for those who are interested in stories about pious love and religious devotion.

It's not a great stand alone book but it is an interesting addition to the collection. The family tendency toward mania is here as in a couple other of the books, turned towards Christianity (which Zola was not too fond of though he's subtle about that), and "dialed up to 10" so that the girl works herself up way too much and destroys her health, ultimately dying. But she was dying at the beginning anyway so it isn't too sad- the intervening years of happiness were a bonus.Many of these books (Germinal, Ladies' Paradise, Beast) I found very educational, painting a picture of a certain segment of society (mining, retail, railroad) but this gives just a glimpse of what it was like to be an embroiderer, & an even smaller glimpse into what the foster system of the time was like. I found it a pretty light read comparatively, and didn't learn much.I read the first page or two in a few translations and found this the most enjoyable for my own tastes. It seems to have the blunt vividness I associate with Zola, where some others try to make it extra flowery which is harder to follow and frankly a bit pretentious. Another thing I liked about this version was the extensive discussion of the novel which is included in the intro.

A great read and part of the Rougon Maquart cycle.