12-05-2014, 10:14 PM | #1 |
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Under Fire: The Story of a Squad by Henri Barbusse
This is the MR Literary Club selection for December 2014. Whether you've already read it or would like to, feel free to start or join in the conversation at any time! Guests are also always welcome.
Goodreads • Gutenberg • Amazon AU • Amazon CA • Amazon UK • Amazon US • Kobo MR Library original French edition uploaded by Karl May • MR Library German edition uploaded by Karl May So, what are your thoughts on it? |
12-05-2014, 10:20 PM | #2 |
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Billi's gutenberg link is a great bet, but if you're looking elsewhere I noticed that for some reason the title is often "Le Feu, English" for the free version. I haven't checked yet if there are more than one translation, but I think the English links above are all to the same (free) translation.
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12-05-2014, 11:38 PM | #3 |
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I learned that the title of the book is taken from the title of one of the most famous chapters within it. I was also surprised that Barbusse was 41 when he enlisted in the French Army in 1914.
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12-06-2014, 08:23 AM | #4 |
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In my search to purchase a copy of the 2003 Penguin edition translated by Robin Buss, I came across this interesting web page:
Teaching Le Feu/Under Fire by Henri Barbusse Buss's translation of The Count of Monte Cristo was what convinced me that the translation means everything and is worth the price. |
12-06-2014, 09:16 AM | #5 |
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Thanks BelleZora! I haven't had time to look at translations here yet but you've saved me the trouble as Buss is a great translator (I read his Dumas as well) and is easily the way to go for me.
Last edited by sun surfer; 12-06-2014 at 09:33 AM. |
12-06-2014, 11:05 AM | #6 | |
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Under Fire was on my TBR list, and I already have a copy so I'm going to stick with the older translation. Best of luck finding the Buss translation. Most prices are $15-17. Rakuten has 1 new copy from $11.40. |
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12-07-2014, 07:38 AM | #7 | ||
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I have just started this today, reading the version from Gutenberg, and am finding it very good indeed. It is totally convincing - I almost feel I am there in the trench with these men in their motley array of clothing, their dirt and exhaustion. The end of chapter 2 really grabbed me:
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12-07-2014, 07:57 AM | #8 |
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Oh, and thanks for the website, Belle.
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12-08-2014, 08:41 AM | #9 |
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I ordered the paperback Penguin edition translated by Robin Buss from Amazon on Saturday. It arrived on the front porch early yesterday - Sunday - delivered by a USPS truck. Amazon has become stunningly efficient.
In the Translator's Note, Buss writes that much of the novel is written in dialogue using the language of the French soldiers in the trenches. He was able to restore some of the language omitted in Wray's translation because English printers are no longer so easily offended. What Buss tried to do was adopt a language that conveys the feel of the slang used by Barbusse without making it too specific or obscure, making the book "more immediate and less musty". For me, this was worth the $11.44 price tag. |
12-08-2014, 09:37 AM | #10 | |
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12-09-2014, 02:23 PM | #11 |
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Thanks, BelleZora, for the very interesting link and the explanations regarding the translations.
I just got my library copy and can start reading this evening. I think this book is a good companion to "Testament of Youth" and "The War Poems of Siegfried Sassoon" as well as "All Quiet on the Western Front" and "The Rites of Spring" from the general book club this year. We now have the First World War broadly covered! |
12-10-2014, 11:59 AM | #12 | |
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I've never been quite clear on what makes a book 'literary' fiction. But I must know it when I see it because I have no doubt that this book qualifies. I expected Under Fire to be an important book, but I'm delighted that it is also a pleasure to read because of the author's (and translator's) mastery of language. Thanks, Billi, for bringing this book to our attention. |
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12-10-2014, 12:12 PM | #13 | |
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I think that it's interesting that Under Fire was published during the war and is so realistic considering the censorship in the news and elsewhere to keep patriotism high. |
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12-14-2014, 11:48 AM | #14 | |||
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Perhaps our resident WWI scholar knows of a literary grade effort for a Russian soldier? Any suggestions Issybird? Quote:
I went with the free ebook version because it was free and an ebook. Early on though when I encountered this piece of dialog I wondered if I should rethink: Quote:
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12-14-2014, 05:15 PM | #15 |
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Thanks for that link Hamlet. The numbers of those killed and those otherwise damaged (possibly not including those injured mentally rather than physically) are quite staggering when you see them all written down like that.
I too am finding the book very powerful. The part where the narrator and his friend came upon a place where the dead had been laid out on the ground and were rotting was all the more horrific because of the matter-of-fact way in which it was described. It's a wonder that any of the soldiers came out of the war with any sanity left at all. |
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