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L'Argent (Folio) | 
| Author: Emile Zola
Publisher: Gallimard
Category: Book
List Price: $17.55
Buy New: $14.16
You Save: $3.39 (19%)
New (6) Used (1) from $14.16
Avg. Customer Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 625111
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Edition: French
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.1
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 4.3 x 0.9
ISBN: 2070372227
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9782070372225
ASIN: 2070372227
Publication Date: November 1911
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
Plus ca change plus ce le meme July 2, 2008
If you ever needed proof of the cyclical nature of human existence read this. Here we are in 2008 with the dot com boom, the Enron debacle and now the housing bubble/credit crunch in the rear view mirror.
Rewind to Paris in the 1860s and you will find the exact same stuff going on with the same clamor to rein in irresponsible speculation that is causing cycles of boom and bust with attendant instability and misery.
As another reviewer has commented, Zola has a gift for analysis and revelation of the true complexity of the human being. Saccard, the main character is a thoroughly unscrupulous financial genius, hungry for money and the status which it affords him. He is the pied piper who merrily leads investors, large and small, over the precipice. The book deals with the hatred and envy of native French catholics for the Jewish oligarchy which rules the financial sector. Interestingly, the projects into which shareholder money is invested relate to the revitalization of the Near East, a capitalist crusade if you will, even including the dream of establishing the papacy in Jerusalem. It all sounds rather familiar in the wake of George W's recent crusade to democratize the Gulf starting with Iraq.
Initially I found the book fascinating simply for the parallels with modern shenanigans but I started to enjoy it more and more for the insightful depiction of human nature and the complex morality of "civilized" life. Zola was primarily a journalist and this novel is something of a drama documentary but a definite shoo-in for an Oscar.
One of my definite favorites December 25, 2000
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is by far one of the best books I've ever read. Zola's ability to demonstrate the dark side in human beings is absolutely spectacular. If you are too read one of his works, it should be this one.
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