close
Cart 0
Audiobooks > Fiction >  Classics > Germinal
Germinal Audiobook, by Émile Zola Play Audiobook Sample

Germinal Audiobook

By: Émile Zola
Germinal Audiobook, by Émile Zola Play Audiobook Sample
FlexPass™ Price: $15.95
$9.95 for new members!
(Includes UNLIMITED podcast listening)
  • Love your audiobook or we'll exchange it
  • No credits to manage, just big savings
  • Unlimited podcast listening
Add to Cart
$9.95/m - cancel anytime - 
learn more
OR
Regular Price: $31.95 Add to Cart
Read By: Frederick Davidson Publisher: Blackstone Publishing Listen Time: at 1.0x Speed 11.67 hours at 1.5x Speed 8.75 hours at 2.0x Speed Series: The Rougon-Macquart Cycle Release Date: January 2006 Format: Unabridged Audiobook ISBN: 9781455172351
4.00022985915493 out of 54.00022985915493 out of 54.00022985915493 out of 54.00022985915493 out of 54.00022985915493 out of 5 (4.00) - 8,875 listener ratings
Wishlist (add) Share
More by Author More by Narrator Similar Audiobooks

Quick Stats About this Audiobook

Total Audiobook Chapters:

40

Longest Chapter Length:

42:20 minutes

Shortest Chapter Length:

19:14 minutes

Average Chapter Length:

26:24 minutes

Audiobooks by this Author:

5

Other Audiobooks Written by Émile Zola: > View All...

The Gin Palace Audiobook, by Émile Zola
The Belly of Paris Audiobook, by Émile Zola
Thérèse Raquin Audiobook, by Émile Zola
The Bright Side of Life Audiobook, by Émile Zola

Listeners Also Enjoyed:

> View All...

The Circular Staircase Audiobook, by
Consciousness: A Very Short Introduction, 2nd edition Audiobook, by
Persuasion Audiobook, by
The Thinking Machine at Work Audiobook, by
Corelli's Mandolin: A Novel Audiobook, by
Watership Down Audiobook, by
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Vol. 1, 1929–1964: The Greatest Science Fiction Stories of All Time Chosen by the Members of the Science Fiction Writers of America Audiobook, by
Far from the Madding Crowd Audiobook, by
The Bell Jar Audiobook, by
The Time Traveler's Wife Audiobook, by
Lila: A Novel Audiobook, by
To Kill a Mockingbird Audiobook, by
The Belly of Paris Audiobook, by
Anna Karenina Audiobook, by
The Light Between Oceans: A Novel Audiobook, by
David Copperfield: Part 1 and 2 Audiobook, by
A Town Like Alice Audiobook, by
Jude the Obscure Audiobook, by
The Wind in the Willows Audiobook, by
The Winter Ghosts Audiobook, by

Publisher Description

With flawless construction and impeccable detail, Germinal chronicles the conflicts, lusts, and deprivation of life in the coal fields of nineteenth-century France.

A father and three of seven children work brutal hours, facing such hazards as landslides, fire, and poisoned air, to scrape together enough money for food. When their lodger, Étienne, shares ideas of a workers’ revolt, the family gradually embraces his plans. Soon the settlement is aflame with resolve to strike for better wages and working conditions. Savage and horrifying events ensue as miners clash with management and with each other. Where people once merely struggled for food they are now dying of starvation. The hungry wage war against the sated, against the resignation of their peers, and ultimately against hunger itself.

Published in 1885, Germinal helped establish Émile Zola as the leading figure in the French school of naturalistic fiction. This masterpiece has been called one of the ten best novels in the French language.

Download and start listening now!

"I loved this book. Emile Zola is probably one of my favorite authors, ever. The adaptation of the book into a French movie was also pretty good, but the book is definitely better. There are a lot of parallels between the descriptions of life in French mining towns and American Southern Appalachian mining towns in the late nineteenth century. Just a fabulous story..."

— Tanya (5 out of 5 stars)

Quotes

  • “A great prose epic, as it has seemed to some, worthy to compare with the great verse epics of old.”

    — Havelock Ellis, physician, psychologist, writer, and, social reformer

  • “Zola’s novel is a fascinating document on the political movements of the time.”

    — Dominique Jullien, Professor of French and Comparative Literature

  • “Coal mines have become rare, but the miners of Germinal are immortal...[it] is an exquisite tribute to their work, their misery and their eventual revolt.”

    — David Baguley, one of the most respected authorities on the work of Zola

  • “Few readers of audiobooks can match Frederick Davidson’s remarkable skill…He’s equal to the task [of] rendering this complex, yet worthwhile, novel accessible to all listeners.”

    — AudioFile

Germinal Listener Reviews

Overall Performance: 4.0625 out of 54.0625 out of 54.0625 out of 54.0625 out of 54.0625 out of 5 (4.06)
5 Stars: 9
4 Stars: 2
3 Stars: 2
2 Stars: 3
1 Stars: 0
Narration: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 (0.00)
5 Stars: 0
4 Stars: 0
3 Stars: 0
2 Stars: 0
1 Stars: 0
Story: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 (0.00)
5 Stars: 0
4 Stars: 0
3 Stars: 0
2 Stars: 0
1 Stars: 0
Write a Review
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5

    " Zola is too long-winded for me (I read the French version, perhaps English would have not been such a pain) in his description of a poor mining town's misfortune and struggle for justice. "

    — Natalie, 1/27/2014
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " An obvious polemic, but I agree with his politics (for the most part)so I gave it three stars (ha, ha). It is much too long, but this may be a function of when it was written. Some of the characters are a bit flat, but from a historical perspective it is still interesting to read. The rising tide of workers, bursting from their underground prisons in the mines, attacking capital . . . gotta love it. "

    — Devin, 1/9/2014
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5

    " Dark and depressing so far, I expect it will pick up with the miner's strike.... "

    — Alicia, 12/13/2013
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " vive la revolution! one of my favorite books ever "

    — Melinda, 12/12/2013
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " I could almost smell the coal as I was reading this book! "

    — Elisabeth, 12/9/2013
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " If I had to choose one paragraph to read for the rest of my life it'd be the last one in this book. "

    — Ethan, 12/8/2013
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " My fourth time reading this book... It never gets old. "

    — Laurence, 12/3/2013
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " My favorite Emile Zola novel. "

    — Sarah, 11/12/2013
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " One of my favorite novels! Same story of economic turmoil over and over agian...nothing new is what this book taught me. "

    — Karin, 8/16/2012
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5

    " Couldn't quite get to the end, pretty heavy-going and depressing "

    — Carson, 7/7/2012
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " I loved this book. It is very depressing and brutal but it is real and that is what I want in a novel. I don't like novels that embellish reality I like those who portray things as they are. "

    — Matea, 4/25/2011
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " Not a very uplifting story, but well written and gripping to the end. It makes you grateful for the sacrifices made by people fighting for social justice so our lives now are so much better. "

    — Hermien, 3/4/2011
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " A pretty good read, but Zola is no Dickens. No humor whatsoever. Sometimes it gets bogged down in technical details about mining. "

    — Kirsten, 1/15/2010
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " This book should be required reading at business schools (spoken as a b-school graduate). A very real portrait of the struggles of the working class. "

    — Suzanne, 3/6/2009
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " Who would have known that a 400+ page book about a coal miner strike in 19th century France would have held my attention and gotten me so invested in the characters. I never would have picked up this book if it wasn't on the BBC list and I admit I was dreading the read but I really enjoyed it!! "

    — Missie, 1/24/2009
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " le classique des classiques de Zola toujours relu avec plaisir "

    — Marie, 9/23/2008

About Émile Zola

Émile Zola (1840–1902), French writer and critic, was raised in a poor family at Aix-en-Provence and at age eighteen went to Paris where he worked as a clerk and a journalist before turning to writing novels. For many years he used his fiction in the service of his passion for social reform. He published many masterworks but is perhaps most famous for his series of novels called Les Rougon-Macquart, one of the chief monuments of the French naturalist movement.

About Frederick Davidson

Frederick Davidson (1932–2005), also known as David Case, was one of the most prolific readers in the audiobook industry, recording more than eight hundred audiobooks in his lifetime, including over two hundred for Blackstone Audio. Born in London, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and performed for many years in radio plays for the British Broadcasting Company before coming to America in 1976. He received AudioFile’s Golden Voice Award and numerous Earphones Awards and was nominated for a Grammy for his readings.