Annotation
In contrast with the epic scope of the Rougon-Macquart novels, Zola's short stories are concerned with the everyday aspects of human existence and the interests of ordinary people. From the cruel irony of Captain Burle to the Rabelaisian exuberance of Coqueville on the Spree , these stories display the broad range of Zola's imagination, using a variety of tones, from the quietly cynical to the compassionate, from the playful to the tragic.
