Declare Books As Under Fire

Original Title:	Le Feu: Journal d'une escouade
ISBN:	0143039040 (ISBN13: 9780143039044)
Edition Language:	English
Literary Awards:	Prix Goncourt (1916)

Under Fire Paperback | Pages: 352 pages

Point Regarding Books Under Fire

Title	:	Under Fire
Author	:	Henri Barbusse
Book Format	:	Paperback
Book Edition	:	Special Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 352 pages
Published	:	August 31st 2004 by Penguin Classics (first published November 1916)
Categories	:	Fiction. War. World War I. Historical. Historical Fiction. Cultural. France

Explanation In Pursuance Of Books Under Fire

Based on his own experience of the Great War, Henri Barbusse's novel is a powerful account of one of the greatest horrors mankind has ever inflicted on itself. For the group of ordinary men in the French Sixth Battalion, thrown together from all over France and longing for home, war is simply a matter of survival, lightened only by the arrival of their rations or a glimpse of a pretty girl or a brief reprieve in the hospital. Reminiscent of classics like Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms and Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front, Under Fire (originally published in French as La Feu) vividly evokes life in the trenches: the mud, stench, and monotony of waiting while constantly fearing for one's life in an infernal and seemingly eternal battlefield. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Rating Regarding Books Under Fire

Ratings: 3.83 From 1410 Users | 125 Reviews

Comment On Regarding Books Under Fire

The author was a French soldier in the early days of WWI, during the use of trench warfare. This book is from 1915, still near the beginning of the war. Though it is a novel, it feels like a memoir. It conveys the sheer barbarity of this war, a depravity beyond any reason or rationale. It also communicates the physical suffering of the soldiers even outside of combat, from cold, fatigue, and hunger. I can see why this generation ever after rejected the notion of class and the 'glory' of war. The

This book is one of the most graphic descriptions of the horror of The Great War that I have ever read. I think it is worth pointing out that Barbusse also focuses on class divisions. Thus we have the "trench tourists" who are little more than curiosity seekers and those who have managed to obtain safe positions behind the lines. Both types arouse the indignation of the ordinary soldier. Then there is the contrast between the conditions of the trench-soldiers as it is reported at home and as it

Under FireThis is a remarkable book.Barbusse makes vivid use of his own experiences as a soldier during the First World War, to bring alive the day-to-day existence of the rank and file men who served in the trenches. The subtitle The Story of a Squad & the dedication: To the Memory of the Comrades who Fell by My Side at Crouy & on Hill 119, indicate where his focus and his loyalties lie.The content ranges widely across the troops experiences, from the boredom and trivialities of much of

This is an important book. It is quite short, at just under 300 pages, comprising a series of linked short stories about life in the French trenches during World War One.I have not been a soldier but this book rings true to me in depicting the life of the "poilu" (literally "hairy one" - the French eqivalent of the British Tommy or poor bloody infantry). The war is nine parts drudgery and boredom to one part terror. Life in the trenches boils down to food, warmth and shelter, looking after your

Make no mistake, in the event of war I would be a deserter. Although logically speaking you cant desert something that you refuse to participate in; you have to engage, in even the most basic, superficial fashion before you can disengage. Whenever I attempt to explain my pacifism, and my attitude towards the military in general, I almost always receive the same, slightly sneering, response: what about the two world wars? It is the last card, the Ace up the sleeve, of the proud patriot. The

Riveting account of life in the trenches for the ordinary French soldier in WWI. No gruesome detail is spared from the reader, nor the physical and mental energy required just to make it through a day. The author's small band of brothers do little more than exist, but their individual characters come out well in the writing. Remarkably, it was published actually during the war in 1916, which perhaps explains why Barbusse's invective is directed less against the bungling generals that hindsight

This book is an essential, but too often ignored, read for anyone interested in World War I, the literature of that period, or war lit in general. As a piece of literature it was highly significant. Published in 1916, it was one of the first works to openly criticise the war and was a major influence on Siegfried Sassoon. It tells the story of a group of ordinary French soldiers, drawing deeply on Barbusse's own experiences in the trenches. The structure is not a complete narrative, but instead