by Émile Zola
Part of Les Rougon-Macquart, book 17
First published 2008
Jacques Lantier works as an engineer on the railways of Second Empire France. He carries within him a violent hereditary curse that drives him toward murder. When he witnesses a killing on the rail lines, he becomes entangled in a web of political corruption and criminal conspiracy. The locomotive he operates becomes a symbol of unstoppable force, racing through the French countryside without human control. As Jacques struggles against his murderous impulses, the boundaries between civilization and savagery blur. The new railway system that should represent progress instead becomes a stage for violence and moral decay. Zola strips away the veneer of industrial advancement to reveal the brutal instincts that lurk beneath human nature. This dark tale explores how political corruption and personal violence intersect in a society transforming under the weight of technological change.
Genres: fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, crime, thriller, 19th-century
Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: moral-ambiguity, unreliable-narrator
Setting: France, Second Empire
Period: 19th Century
405 pages · Paperback · Penguin Classics
Content warnings: graphic-violence, murder