Germinal

Germinal the twelfth book in Émile Zola's renowned Rougon-Macquart series conveys fury at the exploitation of the many by the few while simultaneously illuminating humanity's capacity for compassion and optimism.Unemployed railway worker Etienne Lantier is a bright but ignorant young man with a volatile temper. When he is forced to accept a backbreaking job at Le Voreux mine because he is unable to find alternative employment he learns that his coworkers are sick hungry and in debt and unable to provide for their family by paying their bills. When the situation in the mining hamlet worsens even worse Lantier finds himself in charge of a strike that could either result in mass famine or save everyone.