C'est la Guerre

by Louis Calaferte, Austryn Wainhouse (Translation)

In C'est la guerre Louis Calaferte presents the World War II--from the moment its outbreak is announced to the public through the unprecedented disaster that ensues, and through France's liberation in 1945--as it registers itself in the ever more isolated consciousness of a young, nameless boy.

Genres: France

196 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Minareadings · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dévoré, littéralement. Mais quel livre !

[Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is an amazing book, like a journalist work but raw, whithout filter. It shows how the masses and opinions are versatile. It also shows the mankind is is not naturally empathetic and generous but mostly focus in its own interest. Of course there are exceptions:)

[Pascale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since this book was published 30 years ago, there's been a glut of movies about WWII, so that this material doesn't appear as fresh as it once did. However, I really enjoyed Calaferte's style and his take on the subject. Nothing much is said about the narrator's state of mind or relationships with the adults around him, yet with great economy Calaferte manages to make us feel how quickly the little boy turns into an overworked teenager disgusted with pretty much everybody around him. In this fictionalized account of his war years, the author describes the French population, at least in the provinces, as crassly ignorant and only to0 willing to adapt to life under German rule. There are no "résistants" in this story, the black market plays a huge role, and the liberation is less a glorious event than a settling of scores. His story shows that war only ever benefits crooks and is all about survival of the meanest.