Customer Reviews

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

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This book depicts in great detail a way of life that is so changed from the present that it might as well be science fiction. The story begins in South America and moves to France and both places are described in loving detail. The father had first left Europe to avoid serving in the military and he returns, unknowingly, in time for his son to become involved in World War I. The description of the changing opinions and moods in Paris were fascinating. How many times have people thought a war would be over in a matter of weeks? The insight into pre World War I Germany was very educational. Many of the characteristics that I had assumed arose with the Nazis prior to WWII were clearly present much earlier. This book should not be missed by anyone interested in history or human nature.

This novel concerns the Desnoyers family, who move from Argentina to France just before the start of World War I. Desnoyers is a Frenchman, his wife is Argentinian and his brother-in-law is German. When tensions between Germany and France mount at the beginning of the war, the already difficult family relationships are strained. Sisters cannot understand their differing loyalties. Desnoyers cannot accept the laid-back lifestyle of his son, who prefers to tango and does not jump to enlist in the army. This son, Julio, is later devestated by a broken romance and joins the army in an attempt to heal himself. The war changes everyone. As the conflict goes on, the ideaology of the time is examined in great detail, as is the mind-set of each of the primary characters. While it takes a while to really get involved in the story, the conclusion of the book is ultimately very moving and the novel seems to make an important point about the nature of war and the bonds that tie fathers to sons. "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" is clearly an important piece of historical fiction which is still relevant today.

This novel with the famous title is a historical adventure fiction from the early 20th century. It is an adventure on a level akin to the Count of Monte Cristo. A good read for the adventure reader looking for new (old) territory to learn about.

I finally stopped reading this book. I could not stay awake for more than a couple of pages per night. It dragged on and on and I did not find any of the characters very appealing. I really wanted to read it because I had little knowledge of this period in history, but I will have to find another book, because this one just didn't do it for me.

The writing is good and the story is gripping. But one should not forget that the author was given the task of writing this war novel by Poincaré, who was French president in the years leading up to the first world war. This novel was designed as a partisan, pro-French, anti-German novel right from the start. And indeed, its analysis of the responsibilities for the first world war are black-and-white: the phillistine and war-mongering Germans on the one hand, the peace-loving French on the other. Such a depiction might have been right for the second world war but it wasn't for the first. In 1914 France was eager to wage war to recover the two provinces it had lost in the 1870 war. For a non-biased impression of the first world war I recommend Verdun, The Prelude, The Battle by the French writer Jules Romains.