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GERMINAL - what can I say? I studied this book at university and my whole degree course was worth the time and effort just for introducing me to the author. GERMINAL now stands as my favourite book of all time, an intense masterpiece of fiction.

The basic storyline is a miner's strike. It doesn't sound too good or too detailed, but it's all here: politics, chaos, social realism, a love story, an action story, heroes and villains, the good and the bad. Yes, it is melodramatic, but I guess I like melodrama. I laughed, I cried, I couldn't believe the stuff that was unfolding.

Although the story is undoubtedly tragic and depressing, I felt lifted after I read it. It's one of the few novels that have left me with a different perception of the world after reading. It made me realise that literature can be fun, damn it, without being dry and boring!