Customer Reviews
Disapointing - By: Richard M. Shand, 25 Feb 2007 
This is my first review so bare with me.
I found Zola's writing style very difficult to stomach. He certainly created two characters whose actions were very believable & their consequent reactions realistic. The problem I found was at no point did I care about the characters. While creating this unbearable atmosphere between the characters I too found myself avoiding returning home to the book. I would make excuses to avoid reading it just as Therese & Laurent would avoid coming home.
The ending was extremely disappointing. It just felt as if he ran out of ideas & made for a swift ending. Several of the chapters seemed completely surplus to requirement & added nothing to the story.
As I said, he did create two believable characters whose actions were wholly believable. Zola succeeded in creating an claustrophobic atmosphere. This said I unfortunately do not feel this was enough.
Basicallly, I'd never read it again & would advise against people reading it. I'll admit I am not a literary genius & so it is possible some of the quality of the writing as eluded me, however, I have to admit I regret following this through to it's conclusion.
R
Brilliant in its simplicty - By: Ms. E. S. J. Webb, 21 Jan 2007 
A brilliant book which has a simple plot, wonderful characters & the little written dialogue seems to jump off the page at you.
What has made me love this book so much is the way that Zola has writen it so that the reader wants Therese & Laurent to strive & to be in love again because they are right for each other. The reader also does not grieve for the loss of Camille.
I wish to add that if you are a coward with a vivid imagination (like myself) you may find some descriptions of the lovers scaring themselves with images of the dead Camille a little scary.
Highly Enjoyable - By: Neko_Camus, 24 Sep 2006 At first glance, the plot seems to be fairly routine, & perhaps a little boring. I thought this to be in the same vein as Chopin's "Awakening" or perhaps even "Moll Flanders". The title & blurb for this book are misleading, seeming to sell this novel as a romance, especiallly with the description of Laurent as 'earthy' & the 'animal passion' he shares with Therese, & did not immediately appeal to me. This is near-criminal, as it fails to stress the books chilling & pscyhological aspects that make it such an interesting read.
For this is far more than a simple passion/crime novel, but rather an intense, claustrophobic & highly enjoyable insight into the fracturing of two guilt-ridden, egotistical & self-pitying characters, so fully realised & superbly depicted, & shades of both Balzac & Dostoyevsky abound.
This novel might be described as a horror, a moral fable or a tragic romance. Above alll of this though, it is a pscyhological thriller, highly symbolic, yet exciting & morbidly appealing in its entirety.
Gritty, stark and grim - By: Roman Clodia, 21 Sep 2006 
This is a grim little tale of physical lust, crime & guilt set in the seedy world of 19th century Paris. The anti-hero fallls in lust with Therese, the wife of his pathetic friend Laurent, & together they conspire to murder him so they can marry (as much for her money as their mutual passion). But the crime comes back to haunt them, quite literallly with joint halllucinations of the murdered, drowned man.
Zola takes the new science (at that point) of psychology & applies it here, showing man to be no more than an animal driven by physiological appetites. It's not an edifying view of humanity, & in fact there is little humanity in the book at alll, but it's somehow not a depressing read for alll that. perhaps Zola's own ghoulish energy lifts it, or the sublime writing? If your French is good enough, then read it in the original, but if not this is an excellent translation.
Therese Raquin. - By: Hannah Inglis, 25 Jan 2003 This novel explores human nature & inspires the reader to consider why we do what we do, & if anything can be a selfless act. Set in France, the scene is portrayed with great detail, bringing it alive in its true reality. The characters are portrayed well & we can see the way the events change & mould them throughout the plot. We also see how as people we feel guilt & pleasure among many other things throughout the plot, as the characters get what they want by whatever means possible. It illustrates the times that they lived in & how things have changed, but alos how a novel such as this can be as relevant now, as it was at the time it was written.
