- 206 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
Under Fire
About this book
The original translation of one of the first World War I novelsāat first criticized for its harsh realism but now celebrated as a classic.
Set in early 1916, Under Fire follows the point of view of an unnamed foot soldier in a squad of French volunteers on the western front. It combines soaring, poetic descriptions with the mundane, messy, human reality of soldiers living in their own filth. Gradually, names and features are given to the men who emerge from the mud, from the dignified leader, Corporal Bertrand, to the ebullient Volpatte and the obsessive Cocon.
Intermingled with details of how the men navigate daily life in the putrefied atmosphere of the trenches is a political, pacifist argument about this war and war more generally. Caught up in events they cannot control, the soldiers go through their daily routines: foraging for food, reading letters from wives and mothers, drinking, fighting in battle, and, in harrowing scenes for which the novel is noted, discovering dead bodies in advanced stages of decomposition. Through it all, they talk about the war, attempting to make sense of the altered world in which they find themselves.
Under Fire (originally published in French as Le Feu) drew criticism at the time of its publication for its brutal detail, but went on to win the Prix Goncourt, a prestigious literary award that Henri Barbusseāa World War I soldier who wrote from vivid, painful experienceāshares with renowned authors such as Marcel Proust and Marguerite Duras. Here, the original translation by William Fitzwater Wray, which first appeared in 1917, captures both the intensity of the story and the essence of the era. A glossary is also provided.
Set in early 1916, Under Fire follows the point of view of an unnamed foot soldier in a squad of French volunteers on the western front. It combines soaring, poetic descriptions with the mundane, messy, human reality of soldiers living in their own filth. Gradually, names and features are given to the men who emerge from the mud, from the dignified leader, Corporal Bertrand, to the ebullient Volpatte and the obsessive Cocon.
Intermingled with details of how the men navigate daily life in the putrefied atmosphere of the trenches is a political, pacifist argument about this war and war more generally. Caught up in events they cannot control, the soldiers go through their daily routines: foraging for food, reading letters from wives and mothers, drinking, fighting in battle, and, in harrowing scenes for which the novel is noted, discovering dead bodies in advanced stages of decomposition. Through it all, they talk about the war, attempting to make sense of the altered world in which they find themselves.
Under Fire (originally published in French as Le Feu) drew criticism at the time of its publication for its brutal detail, but went on to win the Prix Goncourt, a prestigious literary award that Henri Barbusseāa World War I soldier who wrote from vivid, painful experienceāshares with renowned authors such as Marcel Proust and Marguerite Duras. Here, the original translation by William Fitzwater Wray, which first appeared in 1917, captures both the intensity of the story and the essence of the era. A glossary is also provided.
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Yes, you can access Under Fire by Henri Barbusse, William Fitzwater Wray in PDF and/or ePUB format. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
eBook ISBN
9781504040273Subtopic
Historical FictionTable of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Contents
- I. The Vision
- II. In the Earth
- III. The Return
- IV. Volpatte and Fouillade
- V. Sanctuary
- VI. Habits
- VII. Entraining
- VIII. On Leave
- IX. The Anger of Volpatte
- X. Argoval
- XI. The Dog
- XII. The Portal
- XIII. The Big Words
- XIV. Of Burdens
- XV. The Egg
- XVI. An Idyll
- XVII. In the Sap
- XVIII. A Box of Matches
- XIX. Bombardment
- XX. Under Fire
- XXI. The Refuge
- XXII. Going About
- XXIII. The Fatigue-Party
- XXIV. The Dawn
- Glossary
- About the Author
- Copyright