Hell [Paperback]

Henri Barbusse (Author), Robert Baldick (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 25, 2004

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Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Turtle Point Press (June 25, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1885983018
• ISBN-13: 978-1885983015
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,044,716 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solipsism., November 5, 2002

By 

Luc REYNAERT (Beernem, Belgium) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hell (Paperback)

Although sometimes considered as an erotic work, this is in fact a philosophical novel about solipsism.
This theme is treated brilliantly: a man looks through a hole in a wall in a hotel room into another room, where he observes scenes about life and death, like sex or a dying person who insults a priest.
He always asks himself: is this real or are these scenes only in my thoughts? Does the world outside me exist? His answer is negative: I am alone.
It brings him on the brink of schizophrenia. Even science cannot help him. But ultimately he chooses to continue to live, because there is still a sparkle of hope. To find out why, you should read this novel.
An ambitious, not always well understood, but brilliant work about an essential philosophical problem.

50 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of a kind, July 23, 2004

By 

J from NY (New York) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Hell (Paperback)

It is hard to overestimate the power of this book. A young man (it is regrettable that we never get to put a name to the narrator) cuts a small hole in the wall of his room and watches life, quite literally, 'pass him by'. He bears witness to everything: false love, carnal desire, death (there is an unforgettable scene in which a volatile old man refuses to confess to a priest on his deathbed) all the while making biting observations which strip away, layer by layer, the lies we tell ourselves to keep living. As one reads one almost feels guilty, thinking to oneself "yes, I claimed to love and didn't really love in this situation, I behaved in this way, etc...." It is that true to life despite being a work of solipsism. This is a must.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars My judgment on Hell, August 24, 2006

By 

Sudo Mayhap (Worstward Blvd.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hell (Paperback)

The dialogue is a bit trite. For example, you have 13 year old lovers each speaking like... well, like despairing 19th century romantics alone in the privacy of their bathrooms. Clearly Barbusse was no master of dialogue. There are some inconsistencies and absurdities (in the ridiculous, not "good", sense) in the plot. However, this is well compensated for by the vivid description of the smallest details; instead of such a thing boring the reader, you find yourself anticipating when Barbusse will next describe the evening light on a cabinet, the formation of furniture, the casual setting of a cafe, etc. This book truly reads like a magnificent painting. Despite the 3 star rating (for reasons above), I highly recommend it.