<p>In "The Downfall," Émile Zola crafts a poignant narrative that serves as both a critique of society and a personal tragedy. This novel is a part of Zola's famed Rougon-Macquart series, which meticulously delineates the struggles of the French working class during the Second Empire. Through masterful realism and vivid detail, Zola explores themes of morality, family disintegration, and the repercussions of an unrelenting ambition, all set again...