Germinie Lacerteux

"Germinie Lacerteux" by Edmond de Goncourt is a late 19th-century novel set in Paris that fearlessly portrays the difficult lives of the working class, particularly the main character, Germinie Lacerteux, as she faces the challenges of her hard life. The book begins with a preface where the authors declare their goal of showing the raw and unfiltered truth of lower-class existence, differing from the glamourous, scandalous tales common at the time, with a desire to reveal the forgotten struggles, misfortunes, and emotions of everyday people. The story follows Germinie through her relationships and experiences, showing her fragile state amid a society that mostly ignores her, creating a tone that promises both pain and deep thought about what it means to be human.