This prize winning French novel tells the story of a soldier artist seen through the eyes of a troubled narrator. Moving from the Resistance to Indo China and Algeria, it shows brutal conflicts creating a legacy of violence and racial blindness from which France cannot escape. Sometimes feels overlong but there are brilliantly vivid evocations of jungle warfare and the nightmare of unwinnable conflicts. Bravura passages, on subjects as diverse as De Gaulle and a meal from the slaughterhouse, pepper the narrative. Strong meat.
(Tony Pratt - bwl 99 Winter 2021 ) |
