This graphic novel by the prestigious Europe Comics, is a little gem.


The Zolas, with art by Alice Chemama and text by Méliane Marcaggi, follows the life of Émile Zola, from the moment he meets his future wife - Alexandrine, until his eternalization in the French pantheon.

The story begins precisely with Édouard Manet painting his (scandalous) Dejeuner sur l'Herbe, which would later be exhibited at the Salon des Refusés, where the works of art rejected in the official salon, which was intended for artists who were members of the Royal French Academy of Painting and Sculpture. Alexandrine is the model seen in the background, bathing in the river..

The novel unfolds their relationship, from the beginning, in which Alexandrine stands out as the driving force behind Zola's career, with resources and inspiration for her characters from the saga Os Rougon-Macquart, from which the work Germinal stands out, considered the his Magnum Opus.

Unfortunately, her dedication is repaid with infidelity and two illegitimate children (his), which she would assume after the author's death.

It is a very interesting book that accompanies a golden period of French art and the author's life, which is punctuated by his works.

I was definitely infected with the desire to read Émile Zola, who I knew best for his J'accuse, related to the Dreyfus affair and culminated in his conviction for defamation and subsequent exile..

Description: I knew who’s exactly Emile Zola, but I only recognized one of his books – The Joy of Life – as I didn’t get myself to read any of his works yet, and this comic-style biography of him helps me to immerse deeper into his poetry-spoken and sensual life. Some of those parts in this comic makes me blushed, as it took me back where ‘eroticism’ was a sole subject in art – where some people criticized for displaying publicly - and poetry. It’s all started with a budding romance between Zola and Gabrielle at the evening’s dance party, and she showed her passion for poetry and short stories. On the 17th of March, after he's done with his job with Lamartine at the Hachette advertising offices, he’s started dating her and drinking beer until he’s intoxicated. Things getting hotter with their very first kiss, but when he’s trying to lay her down on her bed, he accidentally tipped the washbasin and bonked his head on the top wall! At the second time, Zola wanted to know her deeply or else, he threatened her that he’ll leave immediately, but she doesn’t have the heart to tell him who’s exactly her. Gabrielle’s grandmother – Caroline – gave birth to her mother – Alexandrine – when she’s at the young age of 17, and she took her to the Founding Hospital, but after hearing the nun’s preaches, she cried bitterly and decided to keep Alexandrine. Sometime later, Alexandrine grew up beautifully, but her mother died of cholera at the age of 27. Her fate was sealed just like her mother, but she took the opposite road – giving her daughter – Gabrielle - away to the same place. Zola didn’t look disgusted, but rather fondly towards her and they made love afterward. One day, he decided to marry her and bringing her to meet his mother, but she looked down upon her, as she’s born as illegitimate. In January 1866, the couple moved to l'École-de-Médecine, where Zola receives his first task for Le Petit Journal – his first step to become a sensational novelist, also Gabrielle’s support and enthusiasm too drove him what he’d wished to be. On the 31st of May, 1870, they finally got married and on their wedding night, Zola wants to focus on his work before having children. But, there are some exchanged gossips among the women, that she didn’t bore any child yet. Work after work, support after support, the decision was made by Zola that he’s ready to be a father! Unfortunately, she’d have a miscarriage and they decided to move to Médan on 18th of May, 1878 – Zola’s mother died afterward. So, to overcome his sadness, he fully devotes into his unfinished work on Pot Luck, The Ladies’ Paradise, and The Joy of Life. In April 1888, there’s a new housemaid – Jeanne – came to seek a job with the Zolas, and Gabrielle was very elated to see her outstanding recommendations – via her former employers. But she’s very timid and afraid of Zola somehow! One day, after resting herself on her bed, Gabrielle wants her to accompany him with his daily walks or his fishing trips. Soon, his weight receded, but having an affair with Jeanne. To distract his wife from the issue, he told Jeanne to resign from her position and brought her into a small apartment – she’s getting pregnant later. To make things better for him, Jeanne, and their children, he rents a house on the other side of the Seine, and he’ll be looking through his telescope from the Zolas’ residency. Their children finally were born into this life – Denise and Jacques – but after Denise was born, Gabrielle finds out in a letter that Zola cheated behind her and rushes out to find who’s the ‘woman’ that Zola having an affair with. There, she finds Jeanne breastfeeding her son and she started to smash and tore all of her belongings! Back to her residency, she’s put into rest, but unfortunately, she couldn’t take off her anger and sadness. When she’s back to her feet, Zola’s been working with his final volume of the Les Rougon-Macquart, and she told him that she’s ready to meet his children, but in three conditions – he’ll be with her every morning, during their meals and early afternoons until teatime, he’ll let her see them twice a month and looking after for their education, also traveling. In September 1897, he wrote an open letter to the President of France, as he’s accusing the government of Anti-Semitism, and the unlawful jailing of Alfred Dreyfus. In the next year of the 13th of January, his reputation getting worse by the public chants of curses, boos, sabotages to both of his families and boycotting his works. On the second trial, the judge finally puts him into exile and leaving Gabrielle behind. Things going different for her, as she studies hard all of the evidence and the legislative texts – because of her, he returned safely to Paris. The comic ends on the 18th of September, 1908, where Zola and Gabrielle survived the toxic fumes in their sleep, but he’s been murdered later.

I really enjoyed this. It tells the story of Émile Zola and Éléonore-Alexandrine Meley. What begins as a rather tender love story unfolds into something more complex and nuanced. The Zolas’ are a charismatic couple who had an enormous cultural impact on French literature and they led an interesting life. The marriage between Émile and Alexandrine forms the bedrock of the story, it is a relationship filled with grief, heartbreak, betrayal, as well as bliss, contentment, and, comfort.

Chemama’s artwork is gorgeous. It is painterly with a watercolour-like aesthetic. At points it is exquisite, of special note is her ability to show the emotions in the faces of the characters. For me, there was a real air of authenticity through the book. Marcaggi’s script is superb. It manages to balance the flaws and strengths of each character without turning them into monsters.

I think parts of the book assume that you have knowledge of French culture and history. As a result, I felt that a lot of cultural references went over my head and I think I missed some aspects of the story because of this. There is a trial section where I didn’t really understand what was happening or why.

All in all, though this book is a very pleasant read with some of the best art I’ve seen this year and a memorable story that lingers long in the memory after you have put it down.

Gorgeous watercolor art mixed with a straightforward relationship drama / bio of the life of author Emile Zola, his wife Éléonore-Alexandrine Meley, and his mistress Jeanne Rozerot. The comic doesn't focus on Zola's books, or his fame, or even the Dryfuss affair that ruined his reputation in his time and made him a soaring example of justice and tolerance in ours. Instead it focuses on the domestic, and hw this tri of interesting individuals navigated their love and feelings in and around society's mores. It's a really interesting story, but the pacing and dialog somehow made it seem straightforward and conventional.

As can be easily guessed from the title, Méliane Marcaggi's debut graphic novel tackles the life of famous French novelist Émile Zola. Accompanied by illustrations by Alice Chemama, Marcaggi begins in 1864 when Zola was a freelance writer at Hachette and follows his life, career, and relationships with wife Alexandrine and mistress Jeanne until his internment in the Panthéon in 1908.

As someone who knew little of Zola's life beyond his novels and famous open letter J'Accuse, I found the novel to be a fun, interesting read. Zola's relationships with Alexandrine and Jeanne take centre stage and the three characters are very much the heart of the book. Alexandrine in particular is incredibly sympathetic, being the one the reader learns the most about; she was very well-fleshed out and interesting to discover. Jeanne is much more enigmatic, which suits both the character and the narrative. She is a contrast to Alexandrine and it is this contrast that attracts Zola. Despite this, I did want to learn more and this is the book's biggest disadvantage. At 166 pages it is short, perhaps too short. Some events seem to happen suddenly and the fast shifts can take readers by surprise. It was a bit jarring at first, particularly the scenes at court, though you do become accustomed to it.

The book opens with Manet painting his Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe (1863) with Alexandrine as one of the models. Throughout the book Manet as well as contemporaries Monet and Cézanne make appearances as characters. Illustrator Chemama's artwork is very much a nod to the Impressionists, and she has captured the art movement beautifully. It is very meta and a lot of fun spotting the influence of different painters in particular scenes. Some of the pictures are gorgeous, carefully rendered down to the smallest detail, that you could step into 19th century Paris and be swept along in the storyline. Also the contrast between flashbacks and the present were nicely depicted through Chemama's art.

For those new to Zola or have only read a couple of his works, then this graphic novel is ideal. For those who already know a lot about the writer, there won't be anything new to discover - at times, the novel feels like a summary of the key events in his life. This is due to the incredibly fast pace as well as the short length. But that's the only criticism there is (is 'this book is too short' even a bad thing?) as I really enjoyed reading The Zolas. It also made me eager to read more of Zola himself. Marcaggi and Chemama are names I'll be looking out for based on this promising debut.

I didn't know much about Zola before reading this, but now I want to learn more. The illustrations are evocative and the story is clear. Recommended for adults and older teens.

A graphic novel told in beautiful artistic watercolour panels of the life of Zola. It opens up with Édouard Manet working on his painting Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe. A tender and touching account of Zola's climb to fame and the three women in his life - his mother, his wife, and his mistress.

What an absolutely stunning work. Visually exceptional, the art style and the changes to reflect mood and situation are so well done. I also liked to learn a lot about the biographical aspects of Emile and Alexandrine Zola's life and there was much I had no idea about. Well told, beautiful and very engaging.

Before I read "The Zolas" I admit I hadn't known much about Émile Zola apart from the fact that he was the author of "Germinal".

And even though we could think this graphic novel talks about his life, it is not difficult to notice that the foccus is, actually, his wife, Alexandrine.

And this is made clear from the very beggining. In fact, she is introduced to us a few pages before Zola enters the story, and we get to know her previous life, but not his.

That was unespected, but also quite positive. After reading, I noticed it is quite easy to go online and learn more about him, but not as much about her, and even less about the importance and influence she had on his work and success, and also the things to which she gave up for him.

The illustration has a watercolor style that fits perfectly the story of a couple that was always so close to some of the most famous painters of their time.

It was a great read, and made me eager to deepen my knowledge about their life and Émile Zola's work. I thank NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for this honest review.

The graphic novel The Zolas shows Emile’s Zola life but more importantly, it gives a really interesting explanation of what his personal life was like and who were the women in his life and the role they played. I have to admit that I didn’t know anything about him except his literary work so I learnt many things. The story was simple and easy to follow. Every information given in this graphic novel can be found online as it is biographical but the art is just amazing and it really makes the characters come to life again. I loved the way the story was told. There are not a lot of lines, hence highlighting the artwork even more, but it just says the essential. I absolutely recommend this graphic novel, especially if you are interested in non-fiction comics or if you just want to know more about Emile Zola’s personal life.

The Zolas by Méliane Marcaggi - text - and Alice Chemama - beautiful illustrations - made it for a perfectly loveable hour of reading and food for the eyes for several literary and intellectual reasons.
First, the painted-like illustrations of this graphic novel are a full feast for the eyes. The choice of pastel colours and the minutiae of every installment are worth a prize. Second, for the quality of the writing reducing Zola´s long and adventurous life - both as a human and as a writer - to a couple of lines while keeping the essential of the story. A story that includes his wife, Alexandrine, as a full character. With a life that inspired some of his characters in the Rougon-Macquart series, Alexandrine was a simple woman, without education, but a supporter of his works and furtrher on, of his intense social and political engagement - particularly during the notorious Dreyfus Affair after he authored J´accuse denouncing the lack of evidences in accusing Alfred Dreyfus, a general in the French Army of Jewish origin, of espionage. Zola had a more or less secret life as well, which involved two children fathered with Jeanne Rozerot, his misstress. To her he dedicated the last volume of Rougon-Macquart, Le Docteur Pascal, a fact that no matter how open his relationship with his wife become, was for sure not an easy burden for his wife. After all, she was the one who was on his side during all those years of writing, during which he turned from a poor copywriter for Hachette into a successful writer.
In the end, after Zola´s accidental death, the two women are portrayed together in the book as partners involved in raising Rozerot´s children, but the truth as it was is probably different, at least for coming to terms with the reality of this double life.
Personally, this book took me back to my teenage years, when I had the chance to read Zola in the original French. Zola took his inspiration as journalists do - or used to before the Google searches - going out on the streets, checking the pulse of the markets and observing people on the move. The realism of his books that were often prohibited by the Ministry of Interior were due to their rough description of the life as it was during the intense process of industrialism that involved changes of fortune and a challenge to the personal relationship and everyday life psychology. From the mundane, the journalist was extracting facts and further describing in the news reports. The writer was able to create stories out of nothing that were rooted in the reality, but whose characters were imaginary.
Besides Balzac, Zola was the original inspiration for my writing - although I haven´t returned to those writings ever since - and even as a graphic novel, While following the texts and illustrations of this book, I welcomed the thoughts and questions, old and new, about my intellectual roots.

A charming graphic novel about the Zolas. Though Emil is at the center of the novel he defnitely isn't all of it, and that adds a lot to the book. The illustration is slightly impressionistic, which is a nice touch given the novel's time period.. Definitely recommend for a high schooler!

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this book in return for an honest review.

What it's about:

The story of Émile Zola, his wife, mother and his mistress.

Pros:

The art by Alice Chemama was beautiful. I was is immersed into this beautiful world where the art felt vintage (in a good way) and was very appealing to my eyes and I ended up reading this in one sitting even though I only planned to read a little part of it due to a headache.

I knew nothing about Émile Zola and his family so this graphic novel was a welcome delight, especially as it takes over quite a long period of time. It gives depth and information about instances in history I had no knowledge of and actually want to learn more about in the future.

Cons:

Now, this could just be my eyes but I found the writing a little bit difficult to read due to the script and size, however, after zooming in on the script, it wasn't too bad.

Rating
4⭐

Would I read it again:

Yes!

Would I recommend it:

Yes, especially for history folk or fans of The Zola family

https://www.dannisbookreviews.com/post/the-zolas-arc-review

File this with the other staid, painterly graphic novel biographies, where something a bit more fresh and energetic may have been wanting. It's not at all bad, script-wise – once you have actually worked out which one is Zola you get to see the French superstar author's life, with his domineering mother, the captor(s) of his heart and all his artistic friends; and the narrative drive, especially if you don't know the story, is a fine one. Visually, with these watercolours, that fit the times he was living in but not the dynamism, modernity and shock value the book claims his writing had, we're not on such safe grounds. I know it was the days of hirsute whiskers and similar clothing but I hate having to re-read beginnings of books just because people look the same, and at least twice the style allows Mrs Zola to gain about ten dress sizes from one frame to the next.

So it ends up being, once more, the subjects that we have to thank – Emile Zola, the Victorian-era author we don't really know enough of unless we've studied him, or are French, his wife, and – well, that would be telling, but he certainly had a knack of gathering very understanding and forgiving women about him, if this is anything to go on. I liked the way the script soon let the initial spread of footnotes lapse, and didn't go the whole hog of dropping every single book title of his into proceedings (indeed, Therese Raquin is never once mentioned), and this reads lightly, without signs of too much gloating about the amount of research it took. As I suggested, it's a story few of us will know much about, and it's a very good one in the end. So while I quibble about it looking so canonical, so antique and so formulaic Victorian, it still has enough to appeal to readers of graphic biographies.

I was surprised by the sheer beauty of The Zolas. The artwork is absolutely gorgeous. Moreover, this is an example of a sophisticated graphic novel that explores real life. Highly recommended.

The Zola's were such an interesting family that continued to surprise me with their dynamic.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review. The Zola's was the story of an author and his family and what lengths they would go to stick together. This story was an inspiration and shows that you can choose to be a good and honest person even if the world and others are not that way.

Earlier this year, I read my first book (Germinal ) by 19th century French author Emile Zola. So, when I saw this graphic novel biography of Zola listed, I figured I would check it out.

'The Zolas' starts when Emile Zola is an adult living in France and pursuing a career as a poet. He runs with an artistic crowd including painters Manet and Cezanne. It is through this group that he meets Gabrielle, whom he develops a relationship with. After they become close, she tells him her true name was Alexandrine and she was orphaned at 10 and ended up getting pregnant at 17 but gave up her baby. Zola isn't concerned about her past and marries him. She is a muse and encourages him in the writing of his novels. They go on walks together in the grittier areas of Paris so that he can get inspired.

I didn't know much about Zola's life before reading this graphic novel so I found it interesting. The book reads like fiction but is biographical. It definitely kept me reading. The artwork was excellent. It looked like it could have come from the likes of Cezanne or Manet...soft and colorful, the artwork has a post-impressionist vibe (said by me, who is not an expert re: art). I highly recommend this book especially to people who enjoy reading non-fiction graphic novels.

What to listen to while reading (or taking a break)
Classical works by Wagner (because apparently Zola likes to mention him in his books a lot)

What a brilliant book! Well written and with beautiful art. Marvellous!

Graphic novel shows life of Zola and his family, and most of all the influence of women in his life. We can see that without wife's support and her determination he couldn't be the writer he was. She sets aside her life and in many ways her happiness to honour his career.

An ode to Alexandrine Zola.

The art in this is fabulous! Chemama cleverly references paintings such as Manet's Déjeuner Sur L'herbe and the work of Cézanne in her palette and other visual cues, to draw attention to the way they influenced Zola's naturalism and approach to writing. Flashbacks are also toned and shadowy to indicate memories - it's all beautifully done.

The text takes secondary position to the artwork in telling the story, I'd say, and uses Americanisms ('quit doing that', 'mom') that are amusingly out of place in C19th Paris.

The plural of the title is wonderfully apposite, and though the narrative is, perhaps inevitably, not deep, it does provide an excellent introduction and overview to Zola's fascinating if troubled life. An engaging and beautifully rendered graphic text.