The Fat and the Thin
by Emile Zola
The Fat and the Thin is set at the abundant food markets of Paris, where its protagonist, Lisa Quenu, has grown selfish with her new-found prosperity.
Excerpt from its preface: "...it also embraces a powerful allegory-- the prose song of the eternal battle between the lean of this world and the fat – a battle in which, as the author shows, the latter always come off successful. M. Zola had a distinct social aim in writing this book."
Painting at right: Eugène Galien-Laloue, Le marché in Paris, 1941
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