Don't be put off by the fact that it was written in French over 100yrs ago - this is no stuffy classic - in fact it is a superb slice of life - the reality & the dreams. L'Assommoir is a tragedy - real, vulgar, painful, bawdy, comical, and movingly human.

As a non-intellectual, I was stunned to find myself gripped by the lives of poor Parisians from 120 yrs ago. Yet hundreds of thousands of us have recently been enthralled by the story of a poverty-stricken Dublin childhood - so why not ? The depth and humanity of this novel mean I could identify with the characters far more than in 99% of modern novels.

My first encounter with Zola was 'La Bete Humaine', which I was amazed to discover, for an ancient (& foreign) 'classic', was a gripping thriller. I had to try another, and purely at random, bought L'Assommoir. I still believe this to be Zola's greatest, though I have now read many more, including 'Nana' and 'Germinal', which I understand are critically preferred.