The Fire

Henri BarbusseProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.7

Word count: 650K words
Chapters: 65

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Le feu (Journal d'une Escouade) by Henri BarbusseAuthor: Barbusse, Henri, 1873-1935,Language: French, Class: PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Release Date: Feb 9, 2015

Editor's review

Under Fire is Henri Barbusse's work based on his trench experience in the First World War; the subtitle "Journal of a Squad" indicates its structure: not a battle history from a commander's perspective, but the daily lives of a group of soldiers amid mud, fear, and death. Its power comes from an almost documentary oppressiveness and a sustained questioning of the absurdity of war; the language is rough and the emotion heavy, and for that reason it has become a text difficult to avoid in war literature. The French public-domain e-book provided by Project Gutenberg preserves the original form and is suitable as material both for French reading practice and for research on war literature. When reading, it is worth placing it alongside trench diaries and historical overviews, both to feel the literary scene and to examine the author's choices and omissions. Note that the book offers no light plot or heroic consolation and carries a heavy emotional load; if you seek a complete military history or light reading, it is not the right entry point. For readers willing to face war writing directly, it offers a weighty testimony.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in First World War literature and trench writing
Readers with French reading ability who want to read original war literature
Literary readers studying war narrative and the boundary between documentary and fiction
Readers who can bear heavy subjects and are willing to read slowly and take notes

Not a good fit for

Readers hoping for light stories or emotional comfort
Readers with no French at all who only want to understand the plot quickly
Beginners in military history seeking a complete account of First World War campaigns and strategic analysis

Reading tips

First learn the basic background of trench warfare on the First World War Western Front, then read the main text, which makes it easier to enter the setting.
Keep simple relationship notes on the squad's group of characters to avoid being scattered by the dense narration.
Limit the amount read each time and allow time to digest heavy passages; do not pursue speed.
Compare with First World War soldiers' diaries or historical overviews to distinguish literary construction from documentary elements.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a novel or a war diary?

It is usually classified as a war novel; the subtitle presents it in the form of "a squad's journal" and it has a strong documentary feel, but it is still a literary work. When reading, notice the difference between its narrative perspective and real wartime records.

What does the French original require of readers?

It requires some French reading ability. The public-domain e-book preserves an old textual appearance, and the war descriptions are dense and emotionally heavy; it is best read slowly with a dictionary and background materials, not as a language primer.

Why is it said to carry a heavy emotional load?

The work focuses on soldiers' fear, death, and exhaustion in the trenches, with an oppressive narrative and little light relief. Readers sensitive to war subjects should pace themselves, read in sections, and pause as needed.

Comments

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About the author

Henri Barbusse Author · French · 1873–1935

Henri Barbusse (1873–1935) was a French novelist, born in Asnières-sur-Seine and died in Moscow. During the First World War he served as an infantryman and, drawing on his firsthand trench experience, wrote Le feu (Under Fire: The Story of a Squad), which won the Prix Goncourt in 1916. With its nearly documentary style, the novel depicts soldiers' daily lives and the cruelty of war, and became an important work of war literature. He later turned to communism and pacifism, publishing novels such as The Inferno and Light, whose themes extend from individual experience to social criticism and idealistic striving. Five of his works are held in this collection, and he also wrote Meissonier. Public information on his early education and specific posts is limited, so no conjecture is offered here; his literary influence rests mainly on his war writing and his ideological turn.