Émile Zola

I am staying with good friends here in Paris on the Avenue Émile Zola in the 15^th arrondissement. Over dinner the other evening with another friend, I remarked how odd it is, given that Zola was such a seminal literary figure, that in America he is hardly known. And for those few Americans who do recognize his name, most know him for only one phrase — “J’accuse…!”

“Yes,” Henri replied sardonically, “Zola is known as the frenchman who defended the Jew.” At which point I couldn’t resist pointing out that Dreyfus was not the only Jew defended by the french. “Who else?” Henri asked. I had my answer ready. “Why, Jerry Lewis and Woody Allen, of course.”

By an odd coincidence, this afternoon on the metro I overheard a family of Chinese tourists. The teenage daughter had spotted Zola’s name on some signage (“Avenue Émile Zola” is the name of a metro stop on the 10 line), and she was eager to show off her knowledge of french culture. “Émile Zola,” she explained to them, switching for effect from Mandarin into English, “was a journalist.”