Fields of Glory [Paperback]

Jean Rouaud (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 16, 1993

One family's grandchildren recount the eccentricities and foibles of their grandparents, whose lives have remained in the timewarp of World War I "fields of glory". Awarded the prestigious Goncourt Prize, this novel vaulted author Jean Rouaud from anonymity to acclaim as the freshest literary voice in France in decades.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The "Fields of Glory," reads a five-centime patriotic souvenir, "Where the blood of France flowed in rivers from 1914 to 1916." The setting may be the rainy lower Loire Valley of the 1950s, but it is the WW I battlefields of Artois, Meuse, Lorraine and Yser that form the emotional backdrop to this poignant testament to the vitality of life that death cannot dim. A first effort by a then unknown newspaper vendor that went on to win the 1990 Prix Goncourt, Fields of Glory begins as a collection of utterly charming reminiscences of the eccentricities of family elders told by an unnamed and indeterminately aged narrator. In pure and graceful prose, beautifully translated by Manheim, Rouaud describes crotchety grandfather Burgaud with his equally difficult car, a cramped and leaky CV2, and maiden great-aunt Marie with her card file of saints--"A prefatory catalogue of terrifying symptoms refers the reader to the saint specializing in the corresponding disorder. The work of a lifetime." It is in the midst of this comedy of daily life that the melancholy subtext of three generations slowly emerges: the stories of the two young men who were casualties of the Fields of Glory and the family that remains to remember them.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

This book represents a dialog between two generations seemingly far apart: three elderly veterans of the post-World War I era from the French lower Loire Valley and their grandchildren. Set in the 1950s, the novel is mainly a journey through the memories of grandfather, grandmother, and Aunt Marie, which reach as far back as battlefields near Ypres and Verdun--the "fields of glory." The memories are narrated from the perspectives of the grandchildren, whose initial boredom and impatience with the nostalgic stories from another era progressively become affection and understanding for the psychological urge to remember and be remembered. Rouaud was unknown even in France until he won the Prix Goncourt 1990, France's highest fiction honor, for this novel. Recommended for all libraries.
- Ali Houissa, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, N.Y.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 154 pages
• Publisher: Arcade Publishing (June 16, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559702168
• ISBN-13: 978-1559702164
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,744,936 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful and Humourous, May 22, 2000

By 

Robert Simpson - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fields of Glory (Paperback)

This gentle book floats you through the life of a French family between the wars, as seen through the eyes of children. Human foibles are observed with a naive humour, and events are often described without the full understanding of the narrator. Much of the subject matter could be overpowering, but the depiction in this book is beautiful.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece!, August 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Fields of Glory (Paperback)

Fields of glory is the most beautifully written book I have read in more than a decade--maybe ever. Virtually every page, every paragraph, is wonderfully crafted. How I wish I could read it in French, although I can't imagine that it could be any better. Mr. Rouaud is a genious.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful book, March 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Fields of Glory (Paperback)

By the end of this book I felt that I knew the family members intimately. This is beautifully done. The story unravels the lives of family members through the memories of a child, tracing their tragedy back to the ultimate tragedy of war. In some ways this book is very French but the feelings are universal and I strongly recommend it.