The
thirteenth novel in Émile Zolas great Rougon-Macquart sequence, Germinal expresses outrage at the exploitation
of the many by the few, but also shows humanitys capacity for compassion and hope. Etienne Lantier,
an unemployed railway worker, is a clever but uneducated young man with a dangerous temper. Forced to take a back-breaking
job at Le Voreux mine when he cannot get other work, he discovers that his fellow miners are ill, hungry, and in debt, unable
to feed and clothe their families. When conditions in the mining community deteriorate even further, Lantier finds himself
leading a strike that could mean starvation or salvation for all.
