Almost a year ago, a car accident changed Crystal's life. The accident killed Crystal's father and left her confined to a wheelchair. Now, Crystal and her mother are staying at the home of Grandmother Emilia, who has just passed away. They face the painful task of sorting through Gram's possessions --and their own memories. Then Crystal's mother, an artist, is offered an unexpected chance to exhibit her work at a gallery in New Mexico--an opportunity she can't afford to turn down. While her mother is gone, Crystal is left in the care of Zola, a friend of her grandmothers. One day Zola suddenly disappears. A series of alarming incidents convinces Crystal that she must find Zola as quickly as possible. Two mysteries escalate simultaneously in Marianne Mitchell's vividly written novel. The question "Where's Zola?" forces Crystal to confront another, equally baffling question: Now that her life has changed so dramatically, who is Crystal?

Filmmakers have drawn inspiration from the pages of Emile Zola from the earliest days of cinema. The ever-growing number of adaptations they have produced spans eras, genres, languages, and styles. In spite of the diversity of these approaches, numerous critics regard them as inferior copies of a superior textual original. But key novels by Zola resist this critical approach to adaptation. Both at the level of characterization and in terms of their own textual inheritance, they question the very possibility of origin, be it personal or textual. In the light of this questioning, the cinematic versions created from Zola's texts merit critical re-evaluation. Far from being facile copies of the nineteenth-century novelist's works, these films assess their own status as adaptations, playing with both notions of artistic creation and their own artistic act.

Mark Twain once said of Jane Austen, "Every time I read Pride and Prejudice I want to dig her up and hit her over the skull with her own shin-bone." And then there's George Bernard Shaw on the Bard: "With the single exception of Homer, there is no eminent writer, not even Sir Walter Scott, whom I can despise so entirely as I despise Shakespeare." Twain and Shaw were both known for their coruscating wit, but they were far from the exception in terms of charity toward their peers. Literary one-upmanship is the subject of this hilariously evil book. Those who delight in literary malice can enjoy Cocteau's damnation of Victor Hugo, and Edith Sitwell's denunciation of D. H. Lawrence. Drawn from the popular "Writers on Writers" column in the The Guardian, Poisoned Pens captures those moments when major authors' talents are turned toward the petulant, abusive, mocking, and downright mean.

Tout ce qu’il faut savoir sur Au Bonheur des Dames de Zola ! Retrouvez l’essentiel de l’œuvre dans une fiche de lecture complète et détaillée, avec un résumé, une étude des personnages, des clés de lecture et des pistes de réflexion. Rédigée de manière claire et accessible, la fiche de lecture propose d’abord un résumé chapitre par chapitre du roman, puis s’intéresse tout particulièrement aux personnages de Denise et d’Octave, les deux héros du roman. On étudie ensuite la démarche naturaliste de Zola, l’optimisme dont il fait preuve dans ce roman, ainsi que le thème des grands magasins et du capitalisme, avant de commenter l’opposition que l’auteur établit entre divers milieux sur fond de théorie darwinienne. Enfin, les pistes de réflexion, sous forme de questions, vous permettront d’aller plus loin dans votre étude. Une analyse littéraire de référence pour mieux lire et comprendre le livre ! Retrouvez toute notre collection sur lePetitLitteraire.fr