Verdun

Men of Good Will #8

by Jules Romains

Of the fearful battles that scarred the last century, Verdun, 1916, in which more than half a million Frenchmen and Germans died or were wounded, stands as one of the most tragic and futile. Jules Romains' novel brings the cataclysmic clash vividly to life, whether in the trenches, under the terrifying artillery bombardments, or in the headquarters of the general staff. First published in 1937, and unavailable for many years, this is an epic masterpiece of war literature

Genres: History, World War I, War, Nonfiction

500 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1938

About the author

Jules Romains, born Louis Henri Jean Farigoule (August 26, 1885 - August 14, 1972), was a French poet and writer and the founder of the Unanimism literary movement. His works include the play Knock ou le Triomphe de la médecine, and a cycle of works called Les Hommes de bonne volonté (Men of Good Will).

Jules Romain was born in Saint-Julien-Chapteuil in the Haute-Loire but went to Paris to attend first the lycée Condorcet and then the prestigious École normale supérieure. He was close to the Abbaye de Créteil, a utopian group founded in 1906 by Charles Vildrac and René Arcos, which brought together, among others, the writer Georges Duhamel, the painter Albert Gleizes and the musician Albert Doyen. He received his agrégation in philosophy in 1909.

In 1927, he signed a petition (that appeared in the magazine Europe on April 15) against the law on the general organization of the nation in time of war, abrogating all intellectual independence and all freedom of expression. His name on the petition appeared with those of Lucien Descaves, Louis Guilloux, Henry Poulaille, Séverine... and those of the young Raymond Aron and Jean-Paul Sartre from the École normale supérieure.

During World War II he went into exile first to the United States where he spoke on the radio through the Voice of America and then, beginning in 1941, to Mexico where he participated with other French refugees in founding the Institut Français d'Amérique Latine (IFAL).

A writer on many varied topics, Jules Romain was elected to the Académie Française in 1946, occupying chair 12 (among the 40 chairs in that august academy). In 1964, Jules Romains was named citizen of honor of Saint-Avertin. Following his death in Paris in 1972, his place, chair 12, in the Académie Française was taken by Jean d'Ormesson.

Jules Romains is remembered today, among other things, for his concept of Unanimism and his cycle of 27 novels in Les Hommes de bonne volonté (The Men of Good Will), a remarkable literary fresco depicting the odyssey over a quarter century of two friends, the writer Jallez and politician Jerphanion, who provide an example in literature of Unanimism.

Reviews

[Sam Schulman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is just one volume of perhaps 14 in the grand series of novels by the interwar French Nobel Prize winner; covering the years leading up to WWI - with the battle of Verdun as its climax - and away from it into the 20s. It is stately, exciting, sometimes difficult to follow - it is filled with Stendhalian young men and complicated plots between the French Gaullist clergy and their enemies in the Vatican, battles between intellectuals of various kinds, and other Balzacian details too numerous to remember. I found it in the stacks of the New York Society Library in the 90s - read the volummes there and found some others in the Bryn Mawr books store on e 79. Recently it occurred to me that I could complete the series looking online, and indeed I ddi - with impressive Red/Black bindings (rather like the red/black on a Grecian Urn, as drawn by Rockwell Kent, and some o fthem with the ragged reddish silver dustjackets Knopf originally supplied.
But I found I could not face reading the remaining volumes. Perhaps it is just right for a man in his late forties, but not after. Does ones fondness for Julien Sorel depart just about the time one ceasses to be able to remember new phone numbers?
But for those who have completed Proust, Anhony Powell, CP Snow, all of Maigret, the Robertson Davies novel series and the Lucia books, not to mention the Leatherstocking tales - Men of Good Will awaits you.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is volume 8 of the 14 volume novel by Jules Romains with the overall title of "Men of Good Will". If it is not obvious from the cover this volume deals with WWI: the preparation for war and the battle of Verdun. It can easily be read as a standalone novel, there are a some characters whose existence may be puzzling (because their lives, etc. are described in previous novels), but it does not affect enjoyment of this volume.

[Brendan Hodge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Individual scenes of this wide-canvas historical novel centering on the Battle of Verdun in 1916 are good, but you never get enough sense of character or plot to be dawn into it and turn the pages fast. I enjoyed it, but it took me six months to finish during which I quickly read many other more engrossing novels.

[Ankshita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jules Romains is a sincere pacifist and a talented writer who uses his exceptional gifts to drive home the point that “war is bad”- but ends up with this rather tedious book. He effectively conveys the atmosphere of 1916. Everything is raw and real-the horror-the stupor-the cynicism. What is missing is the greatness of Man. He would like us to believe that none existed- but first hand soldier accounts testify to the contrary.

War is bad, no doubt, but what should a Frenchman have done with Germans marching towards Paris is a question that the author has conveniently avoided. His major characters do rightly find the war atrociously meaningless but losing it would not have added any more meaning to their lives, would it?
Anyway, Providence ensured in 1940 that the French Intellectuals admit the hard fact that war is bad, but surrender is worse.

[Al · Rating 4 out of 5]

Captivating. Lean on blood and guts and much more invested in the activities of a range of characters, not all in the military. This gives a rounded insight into the impact of Verdun. Recommended.

[craige]

Recommended by Paula