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אדוני המפקד
French Academician and Nazi sympathizer Paul-Jean Husson writes a letter to his local SS officer in the autumn of 1942.
Tormented by an illicit passion for Ilse, his German daughter-in-law, Husson has made a decision that will devastate several lives, including his own.
The letter is intended to explain his actions. It is a dramatic, sometimes harrowing story that begins in the years leading up to the war, when following the accidental drowning of his daughter, Husson's previously gilded life begins to unravel.
And through Husson's confession, Romain Slocombe gives the reader a startling picture of a man's journey: from pillar of the French Establishment and World War One hero to outspoken supporter of Nazi ideology and the Vichy government.
Tormented by an illicit passion for Ilse, his German daughter-in-law, Husson has made a decision that will devastate several lives, including his own.
The letter is intended to explain his actions. It is a dramatic, sometimes harrowing story that begins in the years leading up to the war, when following the accidental drowning of his daughter, Husson's previously gilded life begins to unravel.
And through Husson's confession, Romain Slocombe gives the reader a startling picture of a man's journey: from pillar of the French Establishment and World War One hero to outspoken supporter of Nazi ideology and the Vichy government.
192 pages, Paperback
First published August 18, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
October 19, 2015
A harrowing and disturbing tale of collaboration and betrayal.
French Academician and Nazi sympathizer Paul-Jean Husson writes a letter to his local SS officer in the autumn of 1942.
This isn’t a comfortable read and certainly not for the squeamish. The book is essentially a long letter detailing Husson’s life so far and shows as France being in turmoil, where old allegiances are transposed and family secrets create hidden conflicts.
The book doesn’t pull any punches in its brutal descriptions of interrogation techniques used to gain information on the resistance, but does keep your attention throughout as you learn more about Husson, his hateful beliefs and his hypocrisy.
At one point I wasn’t sure whether this was fiction or an accurate account of a Vichy sympathiser.
A haunting and disturbing book, but necessary read if you want to understand more the convulsions of France following German occupation.
French Academician and Nazi sympathizer Paul-Jean Husson writes a letter to his local SS officer in the autumn of 1942.
This isn’t a comfortable read and certainly not for the squeamish. The book is essentially a long letter detailing Husson’s life so far and shows as France being in turmoil, where old allegiances are transposed and family secrets create hidden conflicts.
The book doesn’t pull any punches in its brutal descriptions of interrogation techniques used to gain information on the resistance, but does keep your attention throughout as you learn more about Husson, his hateful beliefs and his hypocrisy.
At one point I wasn’t sure whether this was fiction or an accurate account of a Vichy sympathiser.
A haunting and disturbing book, but necessary read if you want to understand more the convulsions of France following German occupation.
September 25, 2017
Is what we are being told based on real events, with of course names altered for the protection of the individuals involved? That is what we are told in the Publisher’s Note at the book’s beginning. At the end, we are delivered an interview with the director of the German 2008 documentary TV film “Elsie Berger’s French Family”. The film has yet to be shown in France.
The central portion of the book is a letter written by Paul-Jean Husson, decorated war veteran, acclaimed French author, member of the Académie Française, ardent Pétainist and anti-Semite. He is writing to his acquaintance Monsieur Le Commandant, Nazi officer, Sturmbannführer Schöllenhammer. In the letter he speaks of his devotion to French patrimony, the forging of a new morality, his belief in a strong alliance with Germany and the racial inadequacies of the Jewish people. This makes for an extremely difficult book to read. He speaks of how the “filthy Jews” must be cleansed from the land. He speaks of how they have infiltrated his own family. He has fallen in love with his own son’s wife and has discovered that she is a Jew. I am not going to tell you more, but Paul-Jean is no role model.
He is in love with a Jew. His son is married to a Jew and he is an ardent Jew-hater. He is a man split. Is it love that he feels? Is it infatuation, or is it simply a strong physical attraction that grips him? Each reader must decide for themselves. And what is he to do to resolve the situation?
The book is thought-provoking in that it openly tackles the support some French gave to the occupiers of their nation during the Second World War, as well as the prevalence of anti-Semitism.
The book is extremely convincing. Historical dates, battles and geographical details ring true. My one complaint is that I believe Husson .
The audiobook has three narrators. Gareth Armstrong, Jamie Packer and Luke Thompson. Armstrong carries the largest part; he reads the letter. French and German is spoken perfectly. The audiobook is a superb production. We hear the marching of boots. Are we hearing the soundtrack of the German film? I recommend listening to this rather than reading it, but you need to have a fairly good understanding of French if you choose to listen.
The central portion of the book is a letter written by Paul-Jean Husson, decorated war veteran, acclaimed French author, member of the Académie Française, ardent Pétainist and anti-Semite. He is writing to his acquaintance Monsieur Le Commandant, Nazi officer, Sturmbannführer Schöllenhammer. In the letter he speaks of his devotion to French patrimony, the forging of a new morality, his belief in a strong alliance with Germany and the racial inadequacies of the Jewish people. This makes for an extremely difficult book to read. He speaks of how the “filthy Jews” must be cleansed from the land. He speaks of how they have infiltrated his own family. He has fallen in love with his own son’s wife and has discovered that she is a Jew. I am not going to tell you more, but Paul-Jean is no role model.
He is in love with a Jew. His son is married to a Jew and he is an ardent Jew-hater. He is a man split. Is it love that he feels? Is it infatuation, or is it simply a strong physical attraction that grips him? Each reader must decide for themselves. And what is he to do to resolve the situation?
The book is thought-provoking in that it openly tackles the support some French gave to the occupiers of their nation during the Second World War, as well as the prevalence of anti-Semitism.
The book is extremely convincing. Historical dates, battles and geographical details ring true. My one complaint is that I believe Husson .
The audiobook has three narrators. Gareth Armstrong, Jamie Packer and Luke Thompson. Armstrong carries the largest part; he reads the letter. French and German is spoken perfectly. The audiobook is a superb production. We hear the marching of boots. Are we hearing the soundtrack of the German film? I recommend listening to this rather than reading it, but you need to have a fairly good understanding of French if you choose to listen.
May 16, 2025
A very disturbing novel that takes place in occupied France during WWII. A novelist is obsessed with his beautiful daughter-in-law, but when he learns that she is Jewish, he doubles down on his hatred for the Jews. Very dark book.
July 5, 2013
The fate of the Jews in the Second World War is a familiar subject. Horrified though we continue to be, we are rarely surprised anymore. The narrative is well known to us, the pictures indelibly etched on our consciousness. We’ve read countless accounts, both fiction and non-fiction. We know what happened. But every now and then a new book appears that packs such an emotional punch that it’s as though we’ve never had to face the facts before. Such a book is Monsieur le Commandant by French author Romain Slocombe. Subtitled A Wartime Confession, it takes the shape of a letter, a long letter, in which we are forced to confront the horror all over again.
Paul-Jean Husson is an eminent man of letters, an Académicien, a hero from the First World War, a patriot, a fervent Catholic, a colleague of the good and the great, a loving family man and father. He is also a racist and a rabid anti-semite. He welcomes the occupation of France by the Germans, in which he sees France’s salvation. He admires Hitler. He supports the collaborationist regime of Pétain. In 1942 he has a request to make of the local Kreiskommandantur. His letter is a detailed account of the events that have led up to this request.
Husson has been faced with a crisis of belief and conscience. His son has gone to England to join de Gaulle, leaving his German wife and his daughter in the care of his father. And Ilse is Jewish, a member of a race that Husson despises and wishes to see exterminated. Only he loves his son, he loves his granddaughter. And worst of all, he has fallen deeply and passionately in love with his daughter-in-law. Somehow he needs to find a way out of this dilemma.
This chilling and unforgettable portrait of a man caught up in cataclysmic events is a haunting tale. In some respects it has echoes of Jonathan Littell’s The Kindly Ones, that equally remorseless account of an evil man. But whereas Littell’s protagonist strains our credulity, Slocombe’s is only too real, someone into whose mind we penetrate and to some extent can understand, a man as full of contradictions as anyone else. And it is that which makes this such a truly terrifying book.
Slocombe’s writing is spare and measured. He situates his fictional characters in real time and space, with frequent references to real-life people and events. The suspense builds slowly but inexorably. At times it is almost too painful to continue reading – one scene in particular is almost unbearable and I could hardly manage to finish it. This is compulsive reading and it is a book that will remain with me for a very long time. Highly recommended.
Paul-Jean Husson is an eminent man of letters, an Académicien, a hero from the First World War, a patriot, a fervent Catholic, a colleague of the good and the great, a loving family man and father. He is also a racist and a rabid anti-semite. He welcomes the occupation of France by the Germans, in which he sees France’s salvation. He admires Hitler. He supports the collaborationist regime of Pétain. In 1942 he has a request to make of the local Kreiskommandantur. His letter is a detailed account of the events that have led up to this request.
Husson has been faced with a crisis of belief and conscience. His son has gone to England to join de Gaulle, leaving his German wife and his daughter in the care of his father. And Ilse is Jewish, a member of a race that Husson despises and wishes to see exterminated. Only he loves his son, he loves his granddaughter. And worst of all, he has fallen deeply and passionately in love with his daughter-in-law. Somehow he needs to find a way out of this dilemma.
This chilling and unforgettable portrait of a man caught up in cataclysmic events is a haunting tale. In some respects it has echoes of Jonathan Littell’s The Kindly Ones, that equally remorseless account of an evil man. But whereas Littell’s protagonist strains our credulity, Slocombe’s is only too real, someone into whose mind we penetrate and to some extent can understand, a man as full of contradictions as anyone else. And it is that which makes this such a truly terrifying book.
Slocombe’s writing is spare and measured. He situates his fictional characters in real time and space, with frequent references to real-life people and events. The suspense builds slowly but inexorably. At times it is almost too painful to continue reading – one scene in particular is almost unbearable and I could hardly manage to finish it. This is compulsive reading and it is a book that will remain with me for a very long time. Highly recommended.
July 23, 2014
Monsieur Le Comandant is a book that is more horrifying than anything in the horror genre; also it is a novel that cannot to be put down as it ratchets the tension gradually and one keeps hoping that the narrator will just shred the letter in the end...
(said letter which composes most of the novel is written in 1942 by an early 60's famous French Catholic novelist, member of the Academy, decorated WW1 veteran who lost his forearm in battle, had many affairs in his time, is now quite well off if not rich and whose only son marries in the 30's a German actress whom he becomes quite fascinated with, to the point of both conspiring to hide her Jewish origins and amplifying his official antisemitism to the no return point of vitriolic articles, denunciations etc)
while a lot of the "what happened" from the letter is predictable, the how brings quite a few twists and turns and the narrative flow is extremely powerful
Dark, brutal and excellent stuff that reminds one of two things - how the gangster regimes of the 20th century (National Socialism and Communism) casually destroyed lives and brought up the scum of the society who enjoyed doing the dirty work for the leaders and then how under such circumstances it is very hard to remain innocent and you become one of the perpetrators or one of the victims (or of course both)
(said letter which composes most of the novel is written in 1942 by an early 60's famous French Catholic novelist, member of the Academy, decorated WW1 veteran who lost his forearm in battle, had many affairs in his time, is now quite well off if not rich and whose only son marries in the 30's a German actress whom he becomes quite fascinated with, to the point of both conspiring to hide her Jewish origins and amplifying his official antisemitism to the no return point of vitriolic articles, denunciations etc)
while a lot of the "what happened" from the letter is predictable, the how brings quite a few twists and turns and the narrative flow is extremely powerful
Dark, brutal and excellent stuff that reminds one of two things - how the gangster regimes of the 20th century (National Socialism and Communism) casually destroyed lives and brought up the scum of the society who enjoyed doing the dirty work for the leaders and then how under such circumstances it is very hard to remain innocent and you become one of the perpetrators or one of the victims (or of course both)
July 10, 2013
In September 1942, writer Paul-Jean Husson pens a long letter to the German officer in charge of his region confessing, and doing everything possible to justify, a situation that has been going on for years and how the author has resolved it.
This book is a difficult read for more than one reason - firstly because of the subject matter and secondly due to the style in which it is written. As the majority of the book is in the form of a letter from Husson it is written in his style. This style is complex, never using a single word when five will do, full of quotations, determined to display the letter-writer's intelligence and knowledge of the world. It took me a short while to get used to the style, but once come to terms with it I felt that it definitely added to the experience of the novel.
Husson is a version of a cultured Frenchman, a type familiar to French readers, though I'm not sure than readers of other nationalities will completely understand the stereotype aimed at. He is a master of self-deception, swearing that he is being honest while concealing the real truth, perhaps even from himself as regards certain aspects of his life. There is no doubt that he is a monster, just a more subtle one than some of the other characters.
The novels we tend to read about the occupation of France are mostly told from the point of view of those resisting the Nazis, but this is very different and gives a skewed world view which is deeply unsettling.
Monsieur Le Commandant is a quick read because of its short length, but its themes are major ones which belie the shortness of the work. A couple of days after finishing it I find myself still thinking about it.
This book is a difficult read for more than one reason - firstly because of the subject matter and secondly due to the style in which it is written. As the majority of the book is in the form of a letter from Husson it is written in his style. This style is complex, never using a single word when five will do, full of quotations, determined to display the letter-writer's intelligence and knowledge of the world. It took me a short while to get used to the style, but once come to terms with it I felt that it definitely added to the experience of the novel.
Husson is a version of a cultured Frenchman, a type familiar to French readers, though I'm not sure than readers of other nationalities will completely understand the stereotype aimed at. He is a master of self-deception, swearing that he is being honest while concealing the real truth, perhaps even from himself as regards certain aspects of his life. There is no doubt that he is a monster, just a more subtle one than some of the other characters.
The novels we tend to read about the occupation of France are mostly told from the point of view of those resisting the Nazis, but this is very different and gives a skewed world view which is deeply unsettling.
Monsieur Le Commandant is a quick read because of its short length, but its themes are major ones which belie the shortness of the work. A couple of days after finishing it I find myself still thinking about it.
January 21, 2016
Strano romanzo. Inizia lento e quasi in sordina. Addirittura, talvolta diventa anche parecchio noioso. Sono gli anni dell’invasione tedesca della Francia, che la spezzarono di fatto a metà, tra la cosiddetta “zona libera” e la “zona occupata”. In pratica, quegli stessi anni di cui parla la Némirovsky in “Suite francese”. E, invero, alcune scene descritte rammentano molto “Temporale di giugno”, anche se meno ben rese.
E così leggevo, ma senza appassionarmi più di tanto, di quest’uomo di mezza età, sostenitore del Governo di Vichy e della collaborazione con i nazisti, che si innamora suo malgrado della nuora ebrea. In una lunga lettera, che è praticamente un ininterrotto monologo, confessa la sua situazione e la sua storia al Sturmbannführer H. Schöllenhammer.
Poi, improvvisamente, circa a metà libro, a poco a poco il ritmo si è fatto incalzante, l’attenzione si è risvegliata e i fatti sono diventati sempre più interessanti, anche se molto disturbanti e angoscianti. Sino a giungere a un finale che non mi aspettavo e che mi ha fatto rivalutare la lettura, .
Dunque, se si ha la pazienza di procedere lungo la prima parte prendendola come una fase che ha lo scopo di fornire lo sfondo storico reale di una situazione che fu difficilissima per tutti, poi la lettura si rivela niente male e, a suo modo, anche originale.
E così leggevo, ma senza appassionarmi più di tanto, di quest’uomo di mezza età, sostenitore del Governo di Vichy e della collaborazione con i nazisti, che si innamora suo malgrado della nuora ebrea. In una lunga lettera, che è praticamente un ininterrotto monologo, confessa la sua situazione e la sua storia al Sturmbannführer H. Schöllenhammer.
Poi, improvvisamente, circa a metà libro, a poco a poco il ritmo si è fatto incalzante, l’attenzione si è risvegliata e i fatti sono diventati sempre più interessanti, anche se molto disturbanti e angoscianti. Sino a giungere a un finale che non mi aspettavo e che mi ha fatto rivalutare la lettura, .
Dunque, se si ha la pazienza di procedere lungo la prima parte prendendola come una fase che ha lo scopo di fornire lo sfondo storico reale di una situazione che fu difficilissima per tutti, poi la lettura si rivela niente male e, a suo modo, anche originale.
September 13, 2013
***3.5 stars*****
Thank you kindly to Gallic books for offering me a copy of this book for review.
**Based on real events****
In the form of a letter to his local SS officer we hear the story of French Academician and Nazi sympathizer Paul-Jean Husson, as he deals with his passion for his German daughter in law Ilse…and his hatred of the Jews…
This is a difficult one for me. I read it pretty much in one sitting – the story as it unravels kind of demands that level of attention – and as a look at that period of History and at least one man’s changing fortunes and ideals, it is extremely compelling.
A confession. Yes. Strangely fascinating and yet harrowing in places. I found it difficult to read and yet even harder to put down…I have not read many stories about the Occupation of France prior to this one and this is a very different view from the rooftops…I have given no spoilers and no indication. The power of the story is in the telling of it…
Stylish writing but over burdened with words I felt upon occasion, it was not a “flowing” read but once you get used to the overall tone of the book this is not a problem.
I really can’t tell you whether you will like this book or not because I honestly have no idea whether I did . It certainly gave me pause for thought. In my Amazon and Goodreads reviews I am giving this one 3 stars because I can’t give it 3.5 which is what I would actually say it was for me.
Very much in the eye of the beholder – if you are interested in this period of History then I certainly would not let this one pass you by. If you want pure escapism this is not really for you…it is a harsh and unrelenting tale but I’m sure one that will stay with you.
Happy Reading Folks!
Thank you kindly to Gallic books for offering me a copy of this book for review.
**Based on real events****
In the form of a letter to his local SS officer we hear the story of French Academician and Nazi sympathizer Paul-Jean Husson, as he deals with his passion for his German daughter in law Ilse…and his hatred of the Jews…
This is a difficult one for me. I read it pretty much in one sitting – the story as it unravels kind of demands that level of attention – and as a look at that period of History and at least one man’s changing fortunes and ideals, it is extremely compelling.
A confession. Yes. Strangely fascinating and yet harrowing in places. I found it difficult to read and yet even harder to put down…I have not read many stories about the Occupation of France prior to this one and this is a very different view from the rooftops…I have given no spoilers and no indication. The power of the story is in the telling of it…
Stylish writing but over burdened with words I felt upon occasion, it was not a “flowing” read but once you get used to the overall tone of the book this is not a problem.
I really can’t tell you whether you will like this book or not because I honestly have no idea whether I did . It certainly gave me pause for thought. In my Amazon and Goodreads reviews I am giving this one 3 stars because I can’t give it 3.5 which is what I would actually say it was for me.
Very much in the eye of the beholder – if you are interested in this period of History then I certainly would not let this one pass you by. If you want pure escapism this is not really for you…it is a harsh and unrelenting tale but I’m sure one that will stay with you.
Happy Reading Folks!
June 5, 2014
I received a copy of this book as part of the Goodreads Giveaway.
**
Trying to review this book has left me with a problem. It is undoubtedly a good book. It's well-written and engaging, and it's clear that a lot of time, effort, and research went into making this book a thorough and believable look into the mind and experience of a Nazi-sympathizing Frenchman during the Occupation by Germany. However, it's also rather difficult to read. The decision to format it as a first-person account via a letter makes it easy for the author to truly let the reader into the thoughts and motives of the main character, but the main character's own writing style is rather difficult to get used to, at first. He's a wordy fellow, certainly, and while that may be partly due to this being a translation from French, it certainly slowed me down. Ultimately, the missive-style format did lend itself well to the story that needed to be told.
The greatest difficulty, however, is that the main character is wholly unlikable. Mind, I do believe that we're not supposed to like him, since he is a hypocritical, hateful, illogical, and morally dubious man who likes to think of himself as a pious and virtuous paragon that is representative of all that is good in France. In short, he's terrifying, largely because he is so real and the fact that people like this really do exist is terrifying. But whether or not we're supposed to like him, reading his point of view was at times painful. I despise him and therein lies my problem with reviewing this book, or rather, more specifically, in rating this book. For as I said before, it is undoubtedly a very good book. It was difficult to put down since it drew me into the story regardless of my contempt for the main character. But it's difficult to rate it by Goodreads standards, since based on quality, I'd give it 5 stars, but I can't even say that I "liked it," which is what Goodreads lists as only 3 stars. It's so hard for me to say that I "liked" this book. I suppose any book about a difficult topic would leave me with the same dilemma.
Ultimately, I suppose I must put aside my dislike for the main character and his actions and rate it as best I can based on the book's merits. 4/5 stars for the writing and the story itself, even if I can't say that I "loved it." The author certainly provides the reader with a set of believable and complex characters, a beautifully described landscape, and a gripping story. Some of this praise must also go to the translator and his efforts in such a difficult task as translating a novel with such complicated situations and emotionally charged language. I would definitely recommend this book, if someone were thinking about picking it up, though I don't know who I would recommend it to without prompting. I would need to warn that it certainly deals with occasionally horrific topics that were unfortunately common during an ugly period in human history.
This is certainly not a book for the faint of heart, but that is, in my mind, something to be commended. It faces down such painful topics, confusing emotions, and illogical beliefs, and lays them out unapologetically. I will likely never truly understand how someone can believe the things that Paul-Jean Husson, the "protagonist," does, but I didn't expect this book to offer mind-blowing revelations that would explain all of the hatred so prevalent in the characters' hearts. Instead, it presented those beliefs and emotions honestly and realistically, and this glimpse into such a dark place and time is something that I can appreciate.
I may never understand placing blame for one's problems on others like anti-Semites do to the Jewish population or like nationalists do to foreigners, but seeing the nuances of these beliefs and justifications laid out before me through the mind of this narrator (situations that seem so black-and-white in history classes or in other works of fiction but are really much more complicated) may have made it easier for me to recognize in people and movements around me. Heaven help us if we let men like this gain such power ever again.
**
Trying to review this book has left me with a problem. It is undoubtedly a good book. It's well-written and engaging, and it's clear that a lot of time, effort, and research went into making this book a thorough and believable look into the mind and experience of a Nazi-sympathizing Frenchman during the Occupation by Germany. However, it's also rather difficult to read. The decision to format it as a first-person account via a letter makes it easy for the author to truly let the reader into the thoughts and motives of the main character, but the main character's own writing style is rather difficult to get used to, at first. He's a wordy fellow, certainly, and while that may be partly due to this being a translation from French, it certainly slowed me down. Ultimately, the missive-style format did lend itself well to the story that needed to be told.
The greatest difficulty, however, is that the main character is wholly unlikable. Mind, I do believe that we're not supposed to like him, since he is a hypocritical, hateful, illogical, and morally dubious man who likes to think of himself as a pious and virtuous paragon that is representative of all that is good in France. In short, he's terrifying, largely because he is so real and the fact that people like this really do exist is terrifying. But whether or not we're supposed to like him, reading his point of view was at times painful. I despise him and therein lies my problem with reviewing this book, or rather, more specifically, in rating this book. For as I said before, it is undoubtedly a very good book. It was difficult to put down since it drew me into the story regardless of my contempt for the main character. But it's difficult to rate it by Goodreads standards, since based on quality, I'd give it 5 stars, but I can't even say that I "liked it," which is what Goodreads lists as only 3 stars. It's so hard for me to say that I "liked" this book. I suppose any book about a difficult topic would leave me with the same dilemma.
Ultimately, I suppose I must put aside my dislike for the main character and his actions and rate it as best I can based on the book's merits. 4/5 stars for the writing and the story itself, even if I can't say that I "loved it." The author certainly provides the reader with a set of believable and complex characters, a beautifully described landscape, and a gripping story. Some of this praise must also go to the translator and his efforts in such a difficult task as translating a novel with such complicated situations and emotionally charged language. I would definitely recommend this book, if someone were thinking about picking it up, though I don't know who I would recommend it to without prompting. I would need to warn that it certainly deals with occasionally horrific topics that were unfortunately common during an ugly period in human history.
This is certainly not a book for the faint of heart, but that is, in my mind, something to be commended. It faces down such painful topics, confusing emotions, and illogical beliefs, and lays them out unapologetically. I will likely never truly understand how someone can believe the things that Paul-Jean Husson, the "protagonist," does, but I didn't expect this book to offer mind-blowing revelations that would explain all of the hatred so prevalent in the characters' hearts. Instead, it presented those beliefs and emotions honestly and realistically, and this glimpse into such a dark place and time is something that I can appreciate.
I may never understand placing blame for one's problems on others like anti-Semites do to the Jewish population or like nationalists do to foreigners, but seeing the nuances of these beliefs and justifications laid out before me through the mind of this narrator (situations that seem so black-and-white in history classes or in other works of fiction but are really much more complicated) may have made it easier for me to recognize in people and movements around me. Heaven help us if we let men like this gain such power ever again.
September 9, 2014
Κάθε κύκλος έχει τις ιδιοτροπίες του, μα και τις αδυναμίες του. Έτσι και ο βιβλιοφιλική κοινότητα ρίχνει τα τείχη, συσπειρώνεται γύρω από εφήμερους ήρωες, οχληδόν ακολουθεί ό,τι οι μυστήριοι μηχανισμοί υμνολογιών προτάσουν ως απαραίτητα αναγνώσματα της εκάστοτε περιόδου.
Η μυθοπλαστικές ικανότητες αγνοούνται στην πλειοψηφία των σύγχρονων δημιουργών, αποθεώνεται η φόρμα, η αφιέρωση σε ευαίσθητα κομμάτια του ανθρώπου πόνου, ο ανθρωπισμός, ο πόνος, η στρεβλή μας ματιά στον σύγχρονο κόσμο και οι πληγές που αφήνουν τα καμώματά μας.
Να ήταν ο αχώνευτος χαρακτήρας, με την διφορούμενη γλώσσα του που με απώθησε; Το κλισέ θέμα ίσως; Τελικά διάβασα μια ομολογία σε μορφή εξιστόρησης και χρονικού, μιας κοινής περιπέτειας του Β' Παγκοσμίου. Υποτίθεται πως προσφέρει μια ματιά, κάπως διαφορετική - αυτή του δωσίλογου, του συνεργάτη με τις δυνάμεις κατοχής. Και εν μέρει το πετυχαίνει. Γιατί ήταν ενδιαφέρον να βλέπω αυτή την πλευρά μιας χώρας καθυποταγμένης και πως μηχανισμοί δημιουργούσαν δεσμούς μεταξύ υπόδουλου και δυνάστη. Αυτό ήταν και το πιο δυνατό στοιχείο του βιβλίου. Η έρευνα είναι εμπεριστατωμένη. Πολλές φορές γκούγκλαρα, αναζητώντας περιοχές, τοπωνύμια και ονόματα. Επίσης, η αγάπη μου για την εκλεπτυσμένη λογοτεχνία έβρισκε αποκούμπια στις όμορφα κεντημένες προτάσεις. Ωστόσο όλα αυτά δεν δικαιολογούν με τίποτα την αποδοχή που έχει αυτό το βιβλίο. Η οποία φτάνει στα όρια της ξεχειλωμένης παρεξήγησης, για μια ιστορία κοινότυπη, μικρή, φέρουσα μια μονότονη, ξινή, μέσα στην όποια πρωτοτυπία της, φωνή.
Βαθμολόγησα βάσει των προσδοκιών μου, κάτι που σε άλλα βιβλία, δηλωμένα, το έχω αποφύγει. Μπορεί να φαίνεται άδικο, μα παρόμοια αδικία ένιωσα να με πνίγει σελίδα με τη σελίδα. Αδικία για το μυθοπλαστικό, διεγερτικό κομμάτι που απουσιάζει. Αυτό το κομμάτι το ποιο απαραίτητο, στοιχείο βασικό ενός λογοτεχνήματος, που αγνοείται επιδεικτικά πολλές φορές, τόσο από κριτικούς όσο και από τους ευκολόπιστους εμάς βιβλιοφάγους.
Η μυθοπλαστικές ικανότητες αγνοούνται στην πλειοψηφία των σύγχρονων δημιουργών, αποθεώνεται η φόρμα, η αφιέρωση σε ευαίσθητα κομμάτια του ανθρώπου πόνου, ο ανθρωπισμός, ο πόνος, η στρεβλή μας ματιά στον σύγχρονο κόσμο και οι πληγές που αφήνουν τα καμώματά μας.
Να ήταν ο αχώνευτος χαρακτήρας, με την διφορούμενη γλώσσα του που με απώθησε; Το κλισέ θέμα ίσως; Τελικά διάβασα μια ομολογία σε μορφή εξιστόρησης και χρονικού, μιας κοινής περιπέτειας του Β' Παγκοσμίου. Υποτίθεται πως προσφέρει μια ματιά, κάπως διαφορετική - αυτή του δωσίλογου, του συνεργάτη με τις δυνάμεις κατοχής. Και εν μέρει το πετυχαίνει. Γιατί ήταν ενδιαφέρον να βλέπω αυτή την πλευρά μιας χώρας καθυποταγμένης και πως μηχανισμοί δημιουργούσαν δεσμούς μεταξύ υπόδουλου και δυνάστη. Αυτό ήταν και το πιο δυνατό στοιχείο του βιβλίου. Η έρευνα είναι εμπεριστατωμένη. Πολλές φορές γκούγκλαρα, αναζητώντας περιοχές, τοπωνύμια και ονόματα. Επίσης, η αγάπη μου για την εκλεπτυσμένη λογοτεχνία έβρισκε αποκούμπια στις όμορφα κεντημένες προτάσεις. Ωστόσο όλα αυτά δεν δικαιολογούν με τίποτα την αποδοχή που έχει αυτό το βιβλίο. Η οποία φτάνει στα όρια της ξεχειλωμένης παρεξήγησης, για μια ιστορία κοινότυπη, μικρή, φέρουσα μια μονότονη, ξινή, μέσα στην όποια πρωτοτυπία της, φωνή.
Βαθμολόγησα βάσει των προσδοκιών μου, κάτι που σε άλλα βιβλία, δηλωμένα, το έχω αποφύγει. Μπορεί να φαίνεται άδικο, μα παρόμοια αδικία ένιωσα να με πνίγει σελίδα με τη σελίδα. Αδικία για το μυθοπλαστικό, διεγερτικό κομμάτι που απουσιάζει. Αυτό το κομμάτι το ποιο απαραίτητο, στοιχείο βασικό ενός λογοτεχνήματος, που αγνοείται επιδεικτικά πολλές φορές, τόσο από κριτικούς όσο και από τους ευκολόπιστους εμάς βιβλιοφάγους.
March 7, 2016
One of the most disturbing books I have ever read, with a protagonist, the French academic Jean-Paul Husson, the most vile, false, hypocrites, opportunists, you can imagine.
Written as a long letter by Husson to a commander of the Gestapo, the novel tells the story of the guilty passion of the old writer for his daughter-in law, a beautiful German girl who has the fault of being Jewish. Driving force of the epistle-confession, is the realization by Husson that the young woman will never be his, meanwhyle decreeing for her a death sentence.
As I said a disturbing book, the reading of which often results in feelings of strong suffering, but written in a way so powerful that you can not stop until the atrocious end.
Translation into English very well done.
Thank Gallic Books and Netgalley for giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
Uno dei libri più inquietanti che mi sia mai capitato di leggere, con un protagonista, l'accademico di Francia Paul-Jean Husson, tra i più abietti, falsi, ipocriti, opportunisti, che si possano immaginare.
Scritto sotto forma di lunga missiva da parte di Husson a un comandante della Gestapo, il romanzo ripercorre la storia della colpevole passione del vecchio scrittore nei confronti della nuora, una bellissima ragazza tedesca che ha il torto di essere ebrea. Motore dell'epistola-confessione, è il rendersi conto da parte di Husson che la giovane donna non sarà mai sua, decretandone per questo motivo la condanna a morte.
Come dicevo un libro inquietante, la cui lettura provoca spesso sensazioni di forte pena, ma scritto in modo così potente che non è possibile interrompere fino all'atroce fine.
Traduzione in inglese molto ben fatta.
Ringrazio Gallic Books e Netgalley per avermi fornito una copia gratuita in cambio di una recensione onesta.
Written as a long letter by Husson to a commander of the Gestapo, the novel tells the story of the guilty passion of the old writer for his daughter-in law, a beautiful German girl who has the fault of being Jewish. Driving force of the epistle-confession, is the realization by Husson that the young woman will never be his, meanwhyle decreeing for her a death sentence.
As I said a disturbing book, the reading of which often results in feelings of strong suffering, but written in a way so powerful that you can not stop until the atrocious end.
Translation into English very well done.
Thank Gallic Books and Netgalley for giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
Uno dei libri più inquietanti che mi sia mai capitato di leggere, con un protagonista, l'accademico di Francia Paul-Jean Husson, tra i più abietti, falsi, ipocriti, opportunisti, che si possano immaginare.
Scritto sotto forma di lunga missiva da parte di Husson a un comandante della Gestapo, il romanzo ripercorre la storia della colpevole passione del vecchio scrittore nei confronti della nuora, una bellissima ragazza tedesca che ha il torto di essere ebrea. Motore dell'epistola-confessione, è il rendersi conto da parte di Husson che la giovane donna non sarà mai sua, decretandone per questo motivo la condanna a morte.
Come dicevo un libro inquietante, la cui lettura provoca spesso sensazioni di forte pena, ma scritto in modo così potente che non è possibile interrompere fino all'atroce fine.
Traduzione in inglese molto ben fatta.
Ringrazio Gallic Books e Netgalley per avermi fornito una copia gratuita in cambio di una recensione onesta.
August 31, 2022
I read the original French version of this, and it was gripping. It's a hard read at first because it's written as a first person letter, but you get used to, and eventually you're in the head of the narrator, which is disturbing, because the character, Paul-Jean Husson, was a very disturbed individual. The author did a great job of creating a very unlikeable character and letting you listen to him first person. The book is disturbing, and believable. It's an uncomfortable read.
July 8, 2022
Fascinating and terrifying. Slocombe makes us relive this period of 1939-1945 in Parisian and provincial France.
July 21, 2013
I am very unsure what to say or what I really think about this book. I found it a real slog and I can't quite work out if I like it or not. I don't know if there us an element of lost in translation, the subject matter or the style in which it is written.
The book mainly comprises a letter from an elderly French man during WWII writing to a German commander, giving a confession. The writer, Paul-Jean Husson, is a German sympathiser, anti-Jew and optimistic that the Germans will add prosperity to the future France. Husson holds and expresses these views very strongly in his confessional, and describes situations which cause him to go against these beliefs.
The main thing that irked me about this novel was that Husson really wasn't either a nice or interesting protagonist. His writing was dull, and most of the book was simply a list of events during the war, but not interesting events, just things. My thinking is that Husson has no imagination and can only think to list things that happen - there isn't even any real opinion on these events in this book. Those opinions that are expressed, mainly about Jews, really disturbed me. It was outright racism and I didn't enjoy reading about this at all. I think had Husson been more charismatic as a narrator, then reading about this period in history might not have bothered me this much, but this is conveyed in such way as to express the opinion as those of a bigoted narrow-minded old mad, and I really didn't like that.
I'm not sure if there might be an element of lost in translation in this. I question whether read in the original French this book might be a little softer and the opinions less harshly conveyed, but I'm still not 100% convinced as the ending tells me that Husson was infact a man who would sink to any levels to make himself feel good.
I found the latter part of this book more interesting. I liked the final information on the fate of those involved in the story and, although very sad to read, it was good to get this information to conclude the story.
Overall, this was a very difficult read. There were some points of interest, and in many ways it was interesting to read the opinions of a Nazi sympathiser, but overall I found it a real slog. Husson had no interest to me and I didn't find him interesting at all. I don't think I would recommend this to others and can't see that too many people would find this one to read again and again.
The book mainly comprises a letter from an elderly French man during WWII writing to a German commander, giving a confession. The writer, Paul-Jean Husson, is a German sympathiser, anti-Jew and optimistic that the Germans will add prosperity to the future France. Husson holds and expresses these views very strongly in his confessional, and describes situations which cause him to go against these beliefs.
The main thing that irked me about this novel was that Husson really wasn't either a nice or interesting protagonist. His writing was dull, and most of the book was simply a list of events during the war, but not interesting events, just things. My thinking is that Husson has no imagination and can only think to list things that happen - there isn't even any real opinion on these events in this book. Those opinions that are expressed, mainly about Jews, really disturbed me. It was outright racism and I didn't enjoy reading about this at all. I think had Husson been more charismatic as a narrator, then reading about this period in history might not have bothered me this much, but this is conveyed in such way as to express the opinion as those of a bigoted narrow-minded old mad, and I really didn't like that.
I'm not sure if there might be an element of lost in translation in this. I question whether read in the original French this book might be a little softer and the opinions less harshly conveyed, but I'm still not 100% convinced as the ending tells me that Husson was infact a man who would sink to any levels to make himself feel good.
I found the latter part of this book more interesting. I liked the final information on the fate of those involved in the story and, although very sad to read, it was good to get this information to conclude the story.
Overall, this was a very difficult read. There were some points of interest, and in many ways it was interesting to read the opinions of a Nazi sympathiser, but overall I found it a real slog. Husson had no interest to me and I didn't find him interesting at all. I don't think I would recommend this to others and can't see that too many people would find this one to read again and again.
October 9, 2011
partenariat Masse Critique Babelio
*
Ecrivain et académicien, Jean-Paul Husson a amplement contribué à faire briller les lettres françaises dans le Paris de l'avant-guerre. Il s'est désormais retiré dans la petite ville que nous nommerons Andigny, en haute Normandie, pour se consacrer à son oeuvre, habitée par un catholicisme fervent, qui s'accompagne de plus de plus d'un antisémitisme " patriotique ". Malgré les nombreuses infidélités qui l'ont attiré dans le lit de coquettes parisiennes au cours de son ascension littéraire, Jean-Paul Husson est un bon père de famille et un époux attentif, jusqu'au jour où son fils, Olivier, avec lequel il entretient peu d'affinités, lui présente sa jeune épouse, Ilse, une actrice allemande aux traits aryens et à la blondeur lumineuse. Les calmes dimanches à la campagne tournent au drame quand Jeanne, sa fille chérie, périt noyée. Suivent la dépression et la mort de son épouse, Marguerite. Puis, la guerre éclate et Olivier est appelé : après la débâcle et l'exode, Jean-Paul Husson accueille Ilse et sa petite-fille chez lui, à Andigny. La beauté d'Ilse exerce sur lui une fascination qui devint malédiction dans ce rapprochement contraint. Car Jean-Paul Husson le sait : Ilse est juive. Elle est aussi responsable de la mort accidentelle de Jeanne, ce qu'il ne parvient pourtant à lui reprocher tant domine en lui l'éblouissement. Un éblouissement en contradiction totale avec toutes ses valeurs, et qu'elle ne saura jamais comprendre, puisqu'elle n'est pas catholique. Pire : elle finit par salir leur seule et unique nuit d'amour, qu'elle a vécue comme un viol, et dont le fruit grandit en elle. Comment justifier la présence de cet enfant au retour d'Olivier - que sa bêtise a conduit à rejoindre la France libre du général de Gaulle ? Seule une lettre peut le sauver. Une lettre et une seule. adressée au commandant Schöllenhammer de la Kreiskommandantur d'Andigny. Pour qu'il organise la déportation de Ilse et de cet enfant né d'une passion impie. Cette réponse sous forme de fiction au principe de la collection " Les Affranchis " montre que c'est en salaud imaginaire que Romain Slocombe porte en lui une lettre jamais écrite ; que la part la plus sombre, la plus honteuse de l'âme humaine ne trouve donc de meilleure place où se montrer que dans le genre épistolaire.
*
Ecrivain et académicien, Jean-Paul Husson a amplement contribué à faire briller les lettres françaises dans le Paris de l'avant-guerre. Il s'est désormais retiré dans la petite ville que nous nommerons Andigny, en haute Normandie, pour se consacrer à son oeuvre, habitée par un catholicisme fervent, qui s'accompagne de plus de plus d'un antisémitisme " patriotique ". Malgré les nombreuses infidélités qui l'ont attiré dans le lit de coquettes parisiennes au cours de son ascension littéraire, Jean-Paul Husson est un bon père de famille et un époux attentif, jusqu'au jour où son fils, Olivier, avec lequel il entretient peu d'affinités, lui présente sa jeune épouse, Ilse, une actrice allemande aux traits aryens et à la blondeur lumineuse. Les calmes dimanches à la campagne tournent au drame quand Jeanne, sa fille chérie, périt noyée. Suivent la dépression et la mort de son épouse, Marguerite. Puis, la guerre éclate et Olivier est appelé : après la débâcle et l'exode, Jean-Paul Husson accueille Ilse et sa petite-fille chez lui, à Andigny. La beauté d'Ilse exerce sur lui une fascination qui devint malédiction dans ce rapprochement contraint. Car Jean-Paul Husson le sait : Ilse est juive. Elle est aussi responsable de la mort accidentelle de Jeanne, ce qu'il ne parvient pourtant à lui reprocher tant domine en lui l'éblouissement. Un éblouissement en contradiction totale avec toutes ses valeurs, et qu'elle ne saura jamais comprendre, puisqu'elle n'est pas catholique. Pire : elle finit par salir leur seule et unique nuit d'amour, qu'elle a vécue comme un viol, et dont le fruit grandit en elle. Comment justifier la présence de cet enfant au retour d'Olivier - que sa bêtise a conduit à rejoindre la France libre du général de Gaulle ? Seule une lettre peut le sauver. Une lettre et une seule. adressée au commandant Schöllenhammer de la Kreiskommandantur d'Andigny. Pour qu'il organise la déportation de Ilse et de cet enfant né d'une passion impie. Cette réponse sous forme de fiction au principe de la collection " Les Affranchis " montre que c'est en salaud imaginaire que Romain Slocombe porte en lui une lettre jamais écrite ; que la part la plus sombre, la plus honteuse de l'âme humaine ne trouve donc de meilleure place où se montrer que dans le genre épistolaire.
September 22, 2022
This book is about a French soldier that is writing a letter to a local SS officer.
The letter is split up into chapters to make it easier to read.
I don't particularly like the person Paul-Jean Husson who is writing to the SS officer, he is a fascist, and a pervert, his son Olivier is married to a German-Jewish woman named Ilse but he doesn't find out till later that she is Jewish.
He hates the Jewish people, and believes that they are turning France in 1940-1945 into a "cesspool" due to foreign people in his country his "motherland" and something must be done about the "Jewish problem or the Jewish question" as it was referred to in the book.
I do not share this opinion and I haven't read much about this era in time yet, but I don't understand why they condemned the Jewish people just due to their race and nationality or because they didn't like the way they worshiped god, because they are christian.
Paul-Jean is lusting after and in love with his son's wife, who is only 19 and he is old enough to be her father which is disgusting, but eventually he manipulates the situation so they are intimate and she becomes pregnant with his child and was considering getting rid of it because it is suspicious why she is pregnant again after, having two of Olivier's children Hermione and Aristide so she thought it was a "silly or stupid mistake" and wouldn't speak to him afterwards because she was ashamed and didn't want Olivier to find out.
Since she was a German she married Olivier and he insisted on her becoming a French citizen so no one would suspect anything and Paul-Jean asked people that he knew to hide her documents so they wouldn't look any further in her background and find out that her religion was Jewish.
However even though the "naturalization process" whatever that is I don't really understand what it is and what the Germans did to "naturalize the Jews"
She was still questioned by the authorities and sent to a concentration camp where she died.
I think due to her thinking that it was a mistake that Paul-Jean Husson told the authorities that she was a Jew and that's why she was sent to Auschwitz and died, because that is exactly what happened to her, while still pregnant she was murdered by the Nazis!
He said "he still loved her and he also said that he hated the Jews" Ilse was Jewish so she was already doomed to die sadly.
The letter is split up into chapters to make it easier to read.
I don't particularly like the person Paul-Jean Husson who is writing to the SS officer, he is a fascist, and a pervert, his son Olivier is married to a German-Jewish woman named Ilse but he doesn't find out till later that she is Jewish.
He hates the Jewish people, and believes that they are turning France in 1940-1945 into a "cesspool" due to foreign people in his country his "motherland" and something must be done about the "Jewish problem or the Jewish question" as it was referred to in the book.
I do not share this opinion and I haven't read much about this era in time yet, but I don't understand why they condemned the Jewish people just due to their race and nationality or because they didn't like the way they worshiped god, because they are christian.
Paul-Jean is lusting after and in love with his son's wife, who is only 19 and he is old enough to be her father which is disgusting, but eventually he manipulates the situation so they are intimate and she becomes pregnant with his child and was considering getting rid of it because it is suspicious why she is pregnant again after, having two of Olivier's children Hermione and Aristide so she thought it was a "silly or stupid mistake" and wouldn't speak to him afterwards because she was ashamed and didn't want Olivier to find out.
Since she was a German she married Olivier and he insisted on her becoming a French citizen so no one would suspect anything and Paul-Jean asked people that he knew to hide her documents so they wouldn't look any further in her background and find out that her religion was Jewish.
However even though the "naturalization process" whatever that is I don't really understand what it is and what the Germans did to "naturalize the Jews"
She was still questioned by the authorities and sent to a concentration camp where she died.
I think due to her thinking that it was a mistake that Paul-Jean Husson told the authorities that she was a Jew and that's why she was sent to Auschwitz and died, because that is exactly what happened to her, while still pregnant she was murdered by the Nazis!
He said "he still loved her and he also said that he hated the Jews" Ilse was Jewish so she was already doomed to die sadly.
March 8, 2017
Paul-Jean Husson is a successful writer and a pillar of the small town where his family have lived for many generations. He is a veteran of WW1, fiercely patriotic, conservative, Catholic and bigoted. He is convinced that France is being undermined by Jews and Bolsheviks. He admires what Hitler is doing in Germany and thinks France should follow the same policies in a glorious pan-European union.
Romain Slocombe has taken the difficult subject of French collaboration during WW2 and examined it as deeply as any French writer can (non-French writers would be advised to stay well away). He does not make his protagonist sympathetic, but he does not make him evil or deliberately traitorous (in my opinion). He makes him blinkered and misguided, blinded by his prejudice to the real situation. He does great harm and his opinions are appalling; he is shown to be wrong about almost everything, his actions driven by misplaced patriotism, love for his beautiful Jewish daughter-in-law and belief in the basic decency of his German conquerors. (There are atrocities in the book, described in graphic detail, but those witnessed by Husson are carried out by corrupt French policemen. These men are evil. Husson's error is in thinking the Germans do not know and would not approve of them.)
The book is written as if it is a historical document, a long letter written by Husson to his chess opponent (but not political opponent) the German Kommandante. The consequences are shown in some reports and interviews in a different typeface at the end.
Romain Slocombe has taken the difficult subject of French collaboration during WW2 and examined it as deeply as any French writer can (non-French writers would be advised to stay well away). He does not make his protagonist sympathetic, but he does not make him evil or deliberately traitorous (in my opinion). He makes him blinkered and misguided, blinded by his prejudice to the real situation. He does great harm and his opinions are appalling; he is shown to be wrong about almost everything, his actions driven by misplaced patriotism, love for his beautiful Jewish daughter-in-law and belief in the basic decency of his German conquerors. (There are atrocities in the book, described in graphic detail, but those witnessed by Husson are carried out by corrupt French policemen. These men are evil. Husson's error is in thinking the Germans do not know and would not approve of them.)
The book is written as if it is a historical document, a long letter written by Husson to his chess opponent (but not political opponent) the German Kommandante. The consequences are shown in some reports and interviews in a different typeface at the end.
February 24, 2016
http://tea-books-dreams.blogspot.pt/
Este livro é assombroso e, simultaneamente, fascinante.
Pessoalmente, nunca apreciei livros que tratassem temáticas relacionadas com a II Guerra Mundial - era tudo muito centrado no ódio cego e na inveja contra os judeus. No entanto, esta obra leva esse ódio a uma outra dimensão.
Começa por ser interessante no momento em que Paul-Jean se apaixona pela sua nora; que acontecimento mais insólito! Ganha-se outro entusiasmo, depois, quando se descobre que a nora de Paul-Jean é, na verdade, judia.
Ora, sendo ele um anti-judeus assumido e extremista, não pode com certeza fechar os olhos a esse traço marcante da sua querida nora! Ele fá-lo, contudo. (Pelo menos no princípio...)
O que acontecerá, vocês podem de certo adivinhar, como eu o fiz logo que li o título.
Porém, isso não retira nem metade do encanto que esta obra exerce sobre os leitores. Não me despertou o interesse para futuras leituras relativas à II Guerra, mas fez-me decerto olhá-la numa perspectiva completamente diferente.
Este livro é assombroso e, simultaneamente, fascinante.
Pessoalmente, nunca apreciei livros que tratassem temáticas relacionadas com a II Guerra Mundial - era tudo muito centrado no ódio cego e na inveja contra os judeus. No entanto, esta obra leva esse ódio a uma outra dimensão.
Começa por ser interessante no momento em que Paul-Jean se apaixona pela sua nora; que acontecimento mais insólito! Ganha-se outro entusiasmo, depois, quando se descobre que a nora de Paul-Jean é, na verdade, judia.
Ora, sendo ele um anti-judeus assumido e extremista, não pode com certeza fechar os olhos a esse traço marcante da sua querida nora! Ele fá-lo, contudo. (Pelo menos no princípio...)
O que acontecerá, vocês podem de certo adivinhar, como eu o fiz logo que li o título.
Porém, isso não retira nem metade do encanto que esta obra exerce sobre os leitores. Não me despertou o interesse para futuras leituras relativas à II Guerra, mas fez-me decerto olhá-la numa perspectiva completamente diferente.
July 25, 2013
Monsiuer le Commandant is a letter, a confession, between Paul-Jean Husson, a relatively wealthy academic and writer, and the regional German Commandant. I was very curious to read Monsieur le Commandant as I know little about the Occupation of France during World War Two. I am very much aware of anti-semitism but less so about the prevailing, casual anti-Jewish attitudes of the time.
I tried hard to approach this book with an open mind, but I'll be honest, the casualness of Paul-Jean's growing hatred of the Jews alongside his burgeoning and troubling love for his daughter-in-law was difficult reading. It is clear Paul-Jean's unhappiness at what befalls his family, partly from his own attitudes, transfers to his difficulty in coping with the change going on around him. That said, it is also a cover for his own anti-semitic behaviour masking as high-brow academic snobbery.
The book traces the growing revulsion, and expulsion, of the Jews across France during the early parts of the war. It is a richly written, harrowing, starkly honest book, a story, I believe, that needed to be told. The author so unremittingly enters the thoughts of Paul-Jean, it is difficult to do anything but become drawn into the growing horror of his confession.
I tried hard to approach this book with an open mind, but I'll be honest, the casualness of Paul-Jean's growing hatred of the Jews alongside his burgeoning and troubling love for his daughter-in-law was difficult reading. It is clear Paul-Jean's unhappiness at what befalls his family, partly from his own attitudes, transfers to his difficulty in coping with the change going on around him. That said, it is also a cover for his own anti-semitic behaviour masking as high-brow academic snobbery.
The book traces the growing revulsion, and expulsion, of the Jews across France during the early parts of the war. It is a richly written, harrowing, starkly honest book, a story, I believe, that needed to be told. The author so unremittingly enters the thoughts of Paul-Jean, it is difficult to do anything but become drawn into the growing horror of his confession.
December 1, 2013
Engagingly and credibly written, Monsieur Le Commandant nevertheless makes for uncomfortable reading at times. Squirming at Husson’s stomach-churning racist and antisemitic slurs I left this novel not, as some might think, with a bad taste in my mouth, but with the very real feeling that I had confronted a deeply unsavoury aspect of France’s 17675247past and come out all the better for it. Despite the essential contradiction of Husson’s feelings for his daughter-in-law that even his deep-rooted antisemitism inexplicably cannot obliterate, this is a brave book, all the braver considering idiots out there that could potentially mistake Husson’s strong views for the author’s own. Flabbergasted that the larger events chronicled happened within living memory, this novel reminds us, not so gently, that many people in this life are, essentially, not very nice and that entire nations very close to home have history to be ashamed of which must be approached head-on. Atrocities were committed by men both large and small during the second World War and it is literature such as this, designed for shock and awe, that will ensure that we never, ever forget it
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November 8, 2020
Ο Σλοκόμπ είναι ένας επιτυχυμένος συγγραφέας, με πολλές διακρίσεις στον χώρο των γραμμάτων, μάλιστα χαίρει ιδιαίτερης εκτίμησης από πολλά υψηλά υφιστάμενα πρόσωπα της πολιτικής εξουσίας. Τα γαλλικά ιδεώδη και η περιφρόνηση, η οποία αγγίζει το μίσος προς το εβραικό στοιχείο είναι τα βασικά χαρακτηριστικά της φιλοσοφίας του. Η δύναμη του έγκειται στο γεγονός ότι έχει την δυνατότητα να επηρεάζει και να κατευθύνει την κοινή γνώμη μέσα από το βήμα των εφημερίδων αλλά και των επαφών του με την εξουσία. Ο βασικός άξονας της σκέψης του εδράζεται στην πεποίθηση του ότι αφού η Γαλλία έχασε , δυστυχώς βέβαια, τον πόλεμο με την Γερμανία, δεν θα πρέπει να αντιδράσει και να επαναστατήσει κατά των γερμανικών αρχών, αντιθέτως να αναπτύξει μεθόδους για την καλή συνεργασία μαζί τους, ως μόνος δρόμος για να ανακτήσει μελλοντικά την θέση που της αξίζει. Μια σκέψη που δεν θα πρέπει παρά να ξενίζει τον αναγνώστη: συμμαχία με την Γερμανία του Χίτλερ!Παρόλη την σπουδαιότητα των θεμάτων που αγγίζει, προσωπικά δεν το βρήκα συγκλονιστικό, ο αφηγητής μου φάνηκε εκνευριστικός , οι απόψεις του αποκρουστικές και με κενά. Αν και πάντα είναι επιθυμητό το να ακούσεις και την άλλη πλευρά, εμένα μου φάνηκε αδύναμη, σε λίγα σημεία κατάφερε να μου μεταδώσει την ένταση και την δραματικότητα.
September 18, 2013
A fascinating but shocking read set before and during The Occupation at a time when France was a divided country, this is not a happy book. It is written as a (somewhat lengthy) letter of confession from a French academic and Nazi sympathiser to his local SS Officer. I would describe myself as being interested in this period in history, rather than fascinated by it, but I do enjoy reading books that inform and offer a different point of view and this was one of those books. As well as France being in turmoil, many families, like the one in this book, were also divided by their views and in addition this family has hidden secrets and forbidden love that threaten to destroy it.
This was an eye opening book for me and I was often appalled by what I was reading, but had to keep turning the pages, fascinated to find out what his confession would be and what would happen to the family. Despite the sensitive nature and shocking revelations this was a fast read that kept my focus and although I may not have liked all that I read, I was glad I'd read it.
This was an eye opening book for me and I was often appalled by what I was reading, but had to keep turning the pages, fascinated to find out what his confession would be and what would happen to the family. Despite the sensitive nature and shocking revelations this was a fast read that kept my focus and although I may not have liked all that I read, I was glad I'd read it.
September 29, 2014
From Amazon-French Academician and Nazi sympathiser Paul-Jean Husson writes a letter to his local SS officer in the autumn of 1942. Tormented by an illicit passion for Ilse, his German daughter-in-law, Husson has taken a decision that will devastate several lives, including his own. The letter is intended to explain his actions. It is a dramatic, sometimes harrowing, story that begins in the years leading up to the war, when following the accidental drowning of his daughter, Husson's previously gilded life begins to unravel. And through Husson's confession, Romain Slocombe gives the reader a startling picture of a man's journey: from pillar of the French Establishment and World War One hero, to outspoken supporter of Nazi ideology and the Vichy government.
Paul-Jean a man full of contradictions.The letter is full of shocks and horror and you need to keep reading to learn the fate of everyone.
There are some gut wrenching moments which stay with you. Chilling.
Paul-Jean a man full of contradictions.The letter is full of shocks and horror and you need to keep reading to learn the fate of everyone.
There are some gut wrenching moments which stay with you. Chilling.
June 30, 2013
This is not a book that I would have ordinarily chosen to read and did struggle here and there; I am not sure whether this was because of the way it was written or the content of the book.
The story is told in the form of a letter, a confession from a man who had the power to manipulate people’s lives; to justify his own base morality and conflicting personal beliefs.
The horror that the reader must feel when reading this book is not just down to some of the graphically told scenes, but it is the intellect and coldly calculating disregard for humanity behind the protagonist that chills the most.
This is a powerful little book, a reminder or the horrors, cruelty and inhumanity wrought in the Second World War. It is also a book that forces you to consider issues regarding all forms of racial discrimination in the 21st century.
The story is told in the form of a letter, a confession from a man who had the power to manipulate people’s lives; to justify his own base morality and conflicting personal beliefs.
The horror that the reader must feel when reading this book is not just down to some of the graphically told scenes, but it is the intellect and coldly calculating disregard for humanity behind the protagonist that chills the most.
This is a powerful little book, a reminder or the horrors, cruelty and inhumanity wrought in the Second World War. It is also a book that forces you to consider issues regarding all forms of racial discrimination in the 21st century.
September 26, 2013
It's impossible to say that I enjoyed this book ... with such horrifying subject matter and its heinous protagonist/narrator, there isn't much to enjoy.
However, it's a story that needed telling, and telling from this viewpoint, however horrendous we might find it (and there certainly are some very painful scenes - be warned).
The writing is spare and perfectly measured, and the suspense gradually but relentlessly increases meaning I had difficult putting the book down, especially during the second half.
The translator has done a great job, conveying the narrator's dry, factual style very well.
A book I'm not likely to forget in a hurry.
However, it's a story that needed telling, and telling from this viewpoint, however horrendous we might find it (and there certainly are some very painful scenes - be warned).
The writing is spare and perfectly measured, and the suspense gradually but relentlessly increases meaning I had difficult putting the book down, especially during the second half.
The translator has done a great job, conveying the narrator's dry, factual style very well.
A book I'm not likely to forget in a hurry.
September 30, 2013
I was lucky enough to win a copy through Goodreads giveaway
This book was a lot to take in, despite being a quick read. I love history, so I was fascinated to see into the lives of the french writer.
I won't say too much about the plot except that the book is a downward spiral leading to his confessions.
The whole time I'm reading this I was trying to figure out if it's fiction or not. I have yet to decide, but it sounds convincingly real.
This book was a lot to take in, despite being a quick read. I love history, so I was fascinated to see into the lives of the french writer.
I won't say too much about the plot except that the book is a downward spiral leading to his confessions.
The whole time I'm reading this I was trying to figure out if it's fiction or not. I have yet to decide, but it sounds convincingly real.
November 29, 2014
È un libro che, seppur risulti di difficile lettura agli inizi, avvolge poi il lettore attraverso una scrittura scorrevole e coinvolgente nonostante i continui riferimenti storici.
"Signor Comandante" non è di certo un libro da leggere sotto l’ombrellone ma occorre assaporarlo, pagina dopo pagina, perché la passione non risulti mai scontata.
Continua a leggere su http://www.leggereacolori.com/letti-e...
"Signor Comandante" non è di certo un libro da leggere sotto l’ombrellone ma occorre assaporarlo, pagina dopo pagina, perché la passione non risulti mai scontata.
Continua a leggere su http://www.leggereacolori.com/letti-e...
December 7, 2014
Petit livre bien émouvant. Qui raconte une terrible histoire de dénonciation par un vieux pétainiste antisémite. Je n'en dis pas plus....très original car ce n'est pas tous les jours que les écrivains français font parler à la première personne un salaud de cette espèce (cf Robert Merle avec "la mort est mon métier " et Jonathan Littell avec "les Bienveilantes" même si ce n'est pas du tout le même genre de salaud).
January 31, 2016
Tremendous novel. I read this immediately after reading "A Train in Winter", which makes for quite a one-two punch - a non-fiction story of the harrowing experience of a group of French women sent to Auschwitz, followed by this fictional tale from the perspective of a highly placed collaborator. I couldn't put this novel down - the way the story builds is masterful but is also very disturbing.
However, it is absolutely worth it.
However, it is absolutely worth it.
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