La joie de vivre (English: The Joy of Living) is the twelfth novel in the Rougon-Macquart series by Émile Zola.

1852), the daughter of Parisian charcutiers Lisa Macquart and M. Quenu, who are central characters in Le ventre de Paris (published 1873).

Ten-year-old Pauline's parents have died, and she comes to live with the Chanteaus, relatives on her father's side, in the seaside village of Bonneville, some 10 kilometers from Arromanches-les-Bains in Normandy.

In particular, the 19-year-old son Lazare, a student of the writings of Schopenhauer, is convinced of life's futility and infused with pessimism and nihilism, which he attempts to express in an unfinished Symphony of Sorrow.

Lazare's investment in a factory to extract minerals from seaweed and his project to build a series of jetties and breakwaters to protect Bonneville from the pounding waves — and the subsequent failure of both these enterprises — reduce Pauline's fortune even further.

Eventually, that love extends to the entire town as Pauline provides money, food, and support to Bonneville's poor, despite their evident greed and degeneracy.

All of the descendants of Adelaïde Fouque (Tante Dide), Pauline's great-grandmother, demonstrate what today would be called obsessive-compulsive behaviors.

La joie de vivre was reportedly the favourite book of 19th century painter Vincent van Gogh.

The book was adapted as a 2012 French TV film, also called La joie de vivre, directed by Jean-Pierre Améris and starring Anaïs Demoustier as Pauline.