'The Joy of Living'' is a novel by Emile Zola (1840-1902), a well-known all over the world French writer, publicist and social activist. The novel was written in 1884 and it's the twelfth volume in the colossal 20-volume rougon-macquart series. Orphaned Paulina Quenu comes to live to her relatives - the family Chanteau, in the fishing village Bonneville. Because of wastefulness of the new foster p...