Lourdes

Book summary

One August morning, the national pilgrimage leaves Paris for Lourdes, with whole trains full of the sick and of pilgrims. On board are Marie de Guersaint, a young woman who can no longer walk, and Father Pierre Froment, her childhood friend, who became a priest but no longer believes. She hopes to be healed, and hopes that he will find his faith again. Over the five days of the pilgrimage, the reader follows Pierre among the crowds, the sick, the doctors and the believers, between science and religion, doubt and hope. Zola depicts with precision people searching for meaning in suffering.