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by Emile Zola
A destitute young orphan named Denise arrives in Paris with her two brothers hoping to find work at her uncle’s shop. Her uncle has fallen on hard times however, and Denise is forced to work at The Ladies’ Paradise, a high-end department store across the street. Ridiculed at first by employees and customers alike, Denise slowly rises through the ranks despite the verbal abuse, romantic scandals, and emotional strain she faces on a daily basis. Soon the catches the eye of the store’s ambitious owner Octave Mouret. Can Denise conquer the consumerist “machine”—and navigate her conflicted feelings for Mouret—without losing herself in the process? Zola uses this brilliant novel as a commentary on the exploitation of women, social mobility for the working class, and the destructive impact of consumerism on small retail businesses in the 19th century.