The Ladies Paradise (Au Bonheur des Dames) recounts the rise of the modern department store in late nineteenth-century Paris. The store is a symbol...
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May 06, 2011
Petra X
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Two stories, one the coming of the modern world, capitalism and consumerism, and the other, the poor peasant girl marries money. An alternative title could be All About Shopping.
Interesting to see how the shop assistants in the first department store in Paris (the Ladies' Delight was modelled on the Bonmarche, the real first store) were treated as servants. They lived in dormitories, had curfews, were expected to be chaste and could be fired for anything - or nothing - at all. Inte More...
Interesting to see how the shop assistants in the first department store in Paris (the Ladies' Delight was modelled on the Bonmarche, the real first store) were treated as servants. They lived in dormitories, had curfews, were expected to be chaste and could be fired for anything - or nothing - at all. Inte More...
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Feb 07, 2012
Also, Safety Math
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This one deals with the monstrous effects of capitalism in France's Second Empire. Zola modeled The Ladies' Paradise after Bon Marché, a Paris shop which revolutionized consumer culture by acting as a sort of indoor bazaar, where one could find housewares, furniture, cloth, readymade clothing etc. in one place rather than traveling all around Paris to different little independent shops--like a mall, but all owned by the same company. Okay, fine, like a Walmart (with real silk). Workers assigned
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Dec 10, 2010
Tatiana
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The Ladies' Paradise (Les Rougon-Macquart, #11) used to be one of my all-time favorite books. In my teenage years. And now I remember why. Of course, it's the lurve.
In this novel, Denise, a lowly sales girl working at a huge department store, snags a husband who is this store's rich playboy owner, Octave Mouret. Somehow, what seemed uber-romantic to me at 13, isn't any more now. You see, Denise basically gets her man by not putting out. Octave is used to getting any woman he wants, bu More...
In this novel, Denise, a lowly sales girl working at a huge department store, snags a husband who is this store's rich playboy owner, Octave Mouret. Somehow, what seemed uber-romantic to me at 13, isn't any more now. You see, Denise basically gets her man by not putting out. Octave is used to getting any woman he wants, bu More...
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Feb 08, 2012
MJ
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Life in an 1860s Paris megastore. As capitalism staggers around on its bunioned feet, waiting for the next self-perpetuating excuse for sickening human greed and useless backbreaking timewasting bullshit in pursuit of Capital to relieve its burden, it’s time to question what we want from an economic system here in the West. A completely equal distribution of funds is impossible since people are cash-hoovering greed machines who will stab their mothers to get a bigger pie slice. Communism is unpo
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Mar 18, 2009
Meredith
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I read this as part of a college course on France after the Revolution. This is the story of a young country girl who must find work in the city at a time when the industrial revolution was creating a commercial revolution in the methods and scale of selling goods. The narrative revolves around the opening and prosperity of a hugely successful department store, the predecessor to the Bon Marche in Paris, that is putting smaller traditional shopkeepers out of business. As the smaller shops go
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Jul 21, 2011
Marija
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“But he felt stronger at Henriette’s, knowing how the possession of a shared mistress brings men together and softens their hearts. That the two of them should be there, wrapped in her beloved scent, having her at hand, ready to persuade them with a smile, seemed to him a guarantee of success.”
Oh boy, what a line! Octave Mouret loves mixing business with pleasure, using his seductive charm to help ensure that he always gets the upper hand. His Parisian department store adopts that sam More...
Oh boy, what a line! Octave Mouret loves mixing business with pleasure, using his seductive charm to help ensure that he always gets the upper hand. His Parisian department store adopts that sam More...
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Jun 17, 2007
snackywombat
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This book is truly a classic, and the whole time I was reading it, I was reminded of those summer reading lists that I always had in high school, full of lofty tomes that looked dusty and boring but when I knuckled down into them, they would suddenly refine my lazy summer of peaches, sunshine and secret cigarettes. Brideshead Revisited, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Sister Carrie... these are the ones I remember curling up in a deck chair with, glass of lemonade in hand. Books like these give us
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Jun 01, 2007
Aroon
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Zola ouvre une réflexion sur la culture de consommation naissante pendant cette période de l'histoire de Paris et de l'Occident à travers le grand magasin, Au Bonheur des Dames. Avec des symboles et de belles descriptions toujours détaillées, Zola transforme une épisode de l'histoire économique en aventure romanesque et intrigue amoureuse . Attention à la description du grand magasin; c'est souvent avec un langage organique ! À ne pas manquer; un texte rare de Zola où il s'agit d'une conclusi
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Jul 21, 2011
Jeff
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It was really hard to give this book 3 stars (instead of 4) because I really think that it is a culturally significant piece of literature. Here Zola anticipates not only the coming of the modern age, but the rise of commercialism. Mouret is the ultimate capitalist, and we see through him the way in which that marvel of 20th century consumerism--the department store--was originally conceived. It prefigures Wal-Mart's destruction of rural small businesses. It shows how merchandise moguls play
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Sep 27, 2011
D
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Zola’s vivid descriptions of Paris in the nineteenth century are stunning. If you love Paris and are interested in French History, I would recommend this book. Among other things, this book (about the development of one of the first department stores in Paris) is an epic battle of the sexes between capitalists/men and consumers/women; as well as a love story between the groups. It is also a classic story of the power of capitalist innovation, which brutally leaves behind less innovative capit
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Jul 10, 2011
Fleur
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The Ladies’ Paradise was one of those books I meant to read, expected to love, but never quite got to for a long, long time. Now I have finished reading, I am inclined to say that the verdict is flawed but fabulous.
Let me explain.
The story begins with twenty year-old Denise Baudu and her two young brothers arriving in Paris from the country. Denise has done her best for her brothers since their parents died, but she was struggling, and so she came to Paris to take up the of More...
Let me explain.
The story begins with twenty year-old Denise Baudu and her two young brothers arriving in Paris from the country. Denise has done her best for her brothers since their parents died, but she was struggling, and so she came to Paris to take up the of More...
Jun 30, 2009
Jessica
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In the movie “Wordplay” a difficult answer in one of the final crosswords was Zolaesque. I had no idea what it meant. Ladies’ Paradise was a great way to experience Zola’s writing – his rich, almost documentary-style descriptions of the details of the everyday life of his characters. The main female character Denise arrives in Paris with her two young brothers with little money and few prospects. She manages to survive by taking a job in a giant department store called the Ladies’ Paradise.
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Oct 19, 2011
Marc
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Au début, j'ai éprouvé quelques difficultés à me plonger dans ce roman, de nombreux personnages y sont présentés et on les suit alternativement. Mais en fait, ce qui m'intéressait vraiment c'était de suivre Denise.
Denise la mal-peignée, qui en prend plein la tête mais ne bronche jamais, et bien qu'elle ne baisse jamais les bras et fasse preuve d'une certaine force de volonté, elle m'agaçait à rester là sans rien dire et à ne jamais s'affirmer. J'aime les personnages forts, qui savent se déf More...
Denise la mal-peignée, qui en prend plein la tête mais ne bronche jamais, et bien qu'elle ne baisse jamais les bras et fasse preuve d'une certaine force de volonté, elle m'agaçait à rester là sans rien dire et à ne jamais s'affirmer. J'aime les personnages forts, qui savent se déf More...
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Sep 27, 2010
Bettie
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Jan 24, 2012
April
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A story written over 100 years ago that can relate to the modern day reader, is one worthy of the term "Classic".
The plot revolves around the success and expansion of The Ladies' Paradise department store. Mouret, the owner, is determined to woo his female customers using not only the most obtuse and blatant types of consumer marketing such as over the top window displays, but also utilizes subtle techniques such as the location of departments within the store and overcr More...
The plot revolves around the success and expansion of The Ladies' Paradise department store. Mouret, the owner, is determined to woo his female customers using not only the most obtuse and blatant types of consumer marketing such as over the top window displays, but also utilizes subtle techniques such as the location of departments within the store and overcr More...
Nov 01, 2009
Gabe
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I really enjoyed this novel- it tells the story of Mouret, an ambitious, Parisian playboy who succeeds in growing his store into Paris’ first mega department store. He succeeds by using a couple of time-tested capitalist tricks: 1) he fools the consumer into buying things they don’t need (while making them feel empowered for it) and 2) he controls his poorly paid staff by creating a system that keeps them busy competing against each other instead of building strength in numbers. I kept waiting
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Aug 09, 2011
Lavinie
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Rougon-Macquart, vol. 11
In this volume, Zola focuses on Octave Mouret who becomes one of the first owner of these big stores showing up in Paris at the beginning of the 20th century. He madly falls in love with the gentle and brave Denise Baudu, and in his madness he is ready to give her all he can, even ending up asking her to marry him. But she kindly refuses every attempt. Meanwhile, the entire neighborhood's small shops are dying one by one, eaten by the big store "Le bonheur des d More...
In this volume, Zola focuses on Octave Mouret who becomes one of the first owner of these big stores showing up in Paris at the beginning of the 20th century. He madly falls in love with the gentle and brave Denise Baudu, and in his madness he is ready to give her all he can, even ending up asking her to marry him. But she kindly refuses every attempt. Meanwhile, the entire neighborhood's small shops are dying one by one, eaten by the big store "Le bonheur des d More...
Jan 16, 2010
Cynthia
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I read an older public domain translation available through Google books. This is a somewhat lighter Zola novel centering around the owner, employees and shoppers at Paris' first large department store, as well as the subsequent gentrification of the neighborhood and the smaller long-established businesses the store (the titular Au Bonheur des dames) drives out of business.
With a plucky heroine who endures penury to support her younger brothers and sexual harassment from the store's r More...
With a plucky heroine who endures penury to support her younger brothers and sexual harassment from the store's r More...
Aug 16, 2011
Zzoeeeee
rated it:
Again Emile Zola masters another genre of literature. Part class comedy, part moral exploration of modern innovation and, of course, part gritty melodrama.
Somehow Zola weaves the chains of the lives of the local shop owners, the gossiping workers of "The Ladies Paradise", the ladies who become the obsessive consumers, the thoughts of the proprieter (Octave Mouret) as his shop scales higher realms of greatness through the story of a unassuming shop-girl just arrived in Paris.
The idea th More...
Somehow Zola weaves the chains of the lives of the local shop owners, the gossiping workers of "The Ladies Paradise", the ladies who become the obsessive consumers, the thoughts of the proprieter (Octave Mouret) as his shop scales higher realms of greatness through the story of a unassuming shop-girl just arrived in Paris.
The idea th More...
Jul 15, 2010
Sonya
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I loved this book! I'm not a big fan of classic French literature but the way Zola creates the image of a big, high-society,French boutique makes it a page turner. He expresses, through his original writing technique the hierarchy of a big "mall". Zola uses fantastic imagery to creating an amazing story as well as well developed characters. This was a fantastic book about two characters from different social classes one, a high-society bachelor and owner of the biggest boutique in Pari
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Feb 20, 2010
Cat
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I LOVED this nineteenth century French coming of age novel. Two interesting stories unravel throughout the book-- one of a young girl left destitute when her parents die and sent to live with a depressed uncle; the other of the expansion of the first Parisian department store. The ideals of capitalism are rampant-- i learned more about marketing and store tactics from this book than from any contemporary source. Now I know why expensive stores dangle those tempting cheap items in front of buyers
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May 19, 2011
Crystal
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I actually enjoyed this book. This book probably could have been cut shorter, but it brings to the forefront the rise of department stores and decline of specialty shops in France. As the new department stores opened up, stores that can offer a variety of goods as opposed to one item, smaller mom and pop shops that only offer one good began to fade away. Also with the rise of department stores came the need for employee rights and benefits. Tying all these important aspects of France's history t
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Jul 21, 2007
Elliott
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People think this is a woman's read, but really it was written by a talented opium addicted anarchist.
Dec 17, 2008
Natalie
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I discovered Emile Zola by accident when my then husband was taking a college lit class. I fell madly in love! Granted you might want to keep some anti-depressants on hand while reading but these are incredible incredible works of art! I've read only one other of his works and discovered this novel and the one other of his I've read are part of a series he wrote. I'm desperate to find the rest in english and read them if anyone has a good source. I unfortunately don't have loads of time or money
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Sep 18, 2010
Tatiana
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Besides the love story between octave and Denise, which is much XIXth century plot, what is astonishingly contemporary, i.e. can be applied to us, is the intricate analysis between the fostering of female desire and the expansion of department stores. Everythiong at the LAdies' paradise elicits desire, sparkles the lust to please and to seduce. the window shops function as many narcisistic mirrors of our shattered egoes, eager to rehabilitate oneself through consumption.
fantastic energy i More...
fantastic energy i More...
Jun 12, 2008
Atiba
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This novel picks up a few years after Pot-Bouille and follows its protagonist, Octave Mouret, away from domesticity and into the world of commerce in the middle of the 19th century. Mouret becomes an entrepreneur and essentially is cast as one of the innovators of the department store. That said, the story is told from the viewpoint of Denise Baudu, a young woman from Normandy who comes to Paris to earn a living and finds herself captivated by the clean, logical efficiency of big business even a
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Jan 25, 2011
Sarah
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When I think of Émile Zola, I think of long drives through Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico. He was one of my go-to authors for the long summer camping trips. It's been two decades since my last family trip but I've been trying to get back into the groove with Zola. I had some success with The Earth. I wish I could say the same for The Ladies' Paradise.
The Ladies Paradise takes place in Paris at the time when city is modernizing and gearing up for the 20th century. A young woman and her More...
The Ladies Paradise takes place in Paris at the time when city is modernizing and gearing up for the 20th century. A young woman and her More...
Sep 01, 2007
Katie
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It follows the protagonist Denise from her meager beginnings as a young women with her two younger brothers under her care after the death of her parents, was forced to move to Paris in hopes of supporting them. She starts off as a pitiful, skinny and impoverished yet generous and noble character. This book was pretty good and I enjoyed the love story and descriptions of social life in Paris during the late 1800’s. However, the endless descriptions of the inner aspects of the store were tires
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Apr 09, 2011
Andy
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As a document of the early days of the department store "The Ladies Paradise" works very well with incisive descriptions of store operations and sales strategies. I was surprised to read that in those days sales staff not only lived in the building but took their meals there, as well.
The novel, unfortunately, fails as a love story in that the main character, Denise, lacks personality, which makes the attraction to the store magnate Msr. Mouret implausible. A man worth mill More...
The novel, unfortunately, fails as a love story in that the main character, Denise, lacks personality, which makes the attraction to the store magnate Msr. Mouret implausible. A man worth mill More...
Jan 27, 2010
Alison
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A richly detailed look at a department store in the late 19th century, "The Ladies' Paradise" is as interesting a historical document as it is a novel. Though I should point out that the story--plucky, up-from-bootstraps heroine endures hardships (and hard mattresses), prevails over the mean girls, snubs and then eventually falls (but on her terms) for the entitled cad of a store owner--is borderline fairytale (I'm trying to avoid the anachronism of telling you this book has a Hollywo
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