Germinal
I've just finished listening to a very good BBC production of Germinal. Now, I'm not a great novel reader. I read far more non-fiction than fiction. That said, I like Zola a lot and Germinal best of all. In fact, I'm hard pressed to think of too many novels that I admire more. I've read the novel at least twice and seen the Depardieu film several times. Now I have a good radio dramatisation to listen to. Maybe, when the TBR pile is down to somewhat more manageable proportions, I might have a crack at it in French. It's a bit long but I'd probably be OK.