You’ll know Nana, you’ll know Germinal, but do you know this gem in Zola’s twenty-strong Rougon-Macquart novel series – the literary-scientific experiment to which he devoted his life? The ‘belly’ is Les Halles – the old food markets in the centre of Paris. Look out for the symbolic charcuterie cat, who’s so sated he can’t be bothered to eat the black pudding right under his nose.
Recommended by West Camel
THE BELLY OF PARIS
Written by Emile Zola
Translated by Mark Kurlansky
Published by Penguin (2009)
West Camel is a writer, reviewer and editor. He edited Dalkey Archive’s Best European Fiction 2015, and is currently working for new press Orenda Books. www.westcamel.net.