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The Masterpiece

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The Masterpiece

By: Émile Zola
Narrated by: Leighton Pugh
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About this listen

Perhaps the most autobiographical of Zola's Rougon-Macquart cycle of novels, The Masterpiece is a hard, bleak, and raw portrait of unrecognized artistic genius. Claude Lantier, brother to Nana and son of Gervaise, is a struggling painter who dreams of conquering the Paris art scene with his revolutionary "open air" style of painting. Discouraged and mocked, Claude retreats to the countryside with a young woman from Clermont, with whom he has fallen in love, before returning to Paris, where he continues to experience rejection at every turn. Zola's depiction of a frustrated artist is said to have drawn heavily on the real-life experiences of Edouard Manet and Paul Cezanne, the latter of whom broke off his friendship with the author upon reading the novel.

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Public Domain (P)2020 Naxos Audiobooks Classics Fiction Literary Fiction

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Superb narration

Leighton Pugh performs his usual miracles invoking a big cast of characters each with its own voice flawlessly rendered, and the French pronounced clearly but perfectly too. Bravo! The novel is a time capsule and very interesting, all about the birth of impressionism and the inner workings of the Salon, but is also a deep meditation on artistic ambition and the many sacrifices, of friendship, love and even life, it can demand. There is also a self portrait of Zola, a tiny bit smug it has to be said, but overall satisfying.

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