Malevil [Paperback]

Robert Merle (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Emecé, Buenos Aires.; Other Ed. (Otra) edition (1973)
• Language: Spanish
• ASIN: B0026S5I56
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,388,468 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I still have my copy, November 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Malevil (Hardcover)

I'm so glad to read the reviews of others in regard to this wonderful book. Perhaps someone in the publishing business will see our reviews and reissue Malevil. I remember reading it many years ago -- probably over two decades -- and it's one of the few fiction books that I held onto. Usually I give away my fiction books.

I enjoy reading post-apocalyptic stories; I suppose it's a morbid fascination -- you know, what would I do in the same situation? Other books in this genre that I've enjoyed include Swan Song and War Day but Malevil is one of the most original stories in this regard. For one, it doesn't take place in the United States; it takes place in France on a wine estate (hopefully I'm recalling this correctly?) The characters who survive happen to be in the wine cellar at the time that the bomb is dropped. Robert Merle's imagination introduces the reader to characters and situations that are amazing in their uniqueness and visual vividness. There is also a love story that is like no other love story I've ever read. Touching, beautiful and original.

If the publishers are reading this, please bring this book back into print. It truly deserves it.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unforgettable, June 23, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Malevil (Hardcover)

This was the first post-apocalyptic novel I had ever read. I was 15 years old, looking for a book to read during summer vacation from my parents bookshelf, and I think it changed my reading habits forever. The beauty of the writing style and the images have stayed with me all these years. One image in particular, that of a character immersing himself in a large sink full of water during the blast, is still vivid in my mind. Sixteen years later, I am looking for this book, and my parents have deselected it from their shelves. For those who are interested in post-apocalyptic literature, this is part of the core collection.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rural France after the nuclear holocaust, April 11, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Malevil (Hardcover)

I don't think I've ever read a book that created beauty out of a post- nuclear holocaust setting- that is, before finding Robert Merle's "Malevil". There might be nothing beautiful left in rural France after Armageddon unless it is in the hearts and memories of its survivors, scattered and few. Emmanuel Conte, bonvivant and owner of a small horse stud, is one of these few and recounts the events of the first year or two after. "Malevil" is very French and therefore very unusual in a Genre that generally is even more American than the rest of SciFi