I think the couple of references to Zola as being one of the
great precursors of the roman noir is right on target.
Many of his greatest novels deal with the doomed, brutalized
and wasted lives of the underclass whose fates are decided by
a malignant and implacable destiny (e.g. "L'Assomoir",
"Therese Raquin", "Nana" and even "Germinal" being three
examples that leap to mind). I'm sure David Goodis and
Woolrich among others had to have been influenced by
Zola.
"La Bete Humaine" seems to me to be the most noirish of
Zola's novels given that it deals with murder, illicit
romance, misconceived passions and fate trapping victims for
whom there will be no remorse. It even has a noir-like title.
In many ways it's like a grand opera version of James M.
Cain's "Postman" or "Double Indemnity".
If nothing else the best of Zola's novels are just plain,
cracking good reads -- as are many noirs.
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