C'est la guerre

by Louis Calaferte

Pendant l’Occupation, Louis Calaferte a onze ans. Il raconte la guerre telle que la voit, telle que la vit un enfant. «Ils parlent. Ils tapent sur la table. Ils reniflent. Ils se grattent dans les poils. Ils se grattent la tête. Ils se renversent sur leurs chaises. Ils mettent leurs pouces dans leurs bretelles. Ils font semblant, mais ils ne sont pas bien. Ils griffent de l’ongle le bois de la table. Ils parlent. Ils se comprennent. Et pourtant, c’est quoi 14, c’est quoi l’Armistice, c’est quoi Daladier, c’est quoi les Boches, c’est quoi Hitler, c’est quoi la politique, c’est quoi le Taureau du Vaucluse, c’est quoi Chamberlain, c’est quoi le pape, c’est quoi la guerre ? - C’est quoi, la guerre ? - Occupe-toi de ta soupe. Mange.»

Genres: France

248 pages, Paperback

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.