Customer Reviews

Malevil

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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

This is my all-time favorite book. I've read it many times and never fail to find this magnificent survival story enthralling. When my paperback version grew tattered, I searched out and found a hardcover edition that I treasure. It's heartening to see the other reviews of this classic and one can only hope it will be put back into print. I did try several other of Robert Merle's books but none are as good as Malevil. It is his masterpiece.

I first read this in English in the early seventies, as a teenage SF junkie. I went on to earn a PhD in French, and took a class with the author at the U de Nanterre. This is THE book to get into Merle, but you should read every word he wrote. And read it in French if you can. There was a fairly mediocre film made of it in 1981, which is virtually impossible to find (I am searching - any help appreciated!). This book rates up there with The Stand, A Canticle for Leibowitz, Logan's Run, Ravage... Great intense vision of the rebuilding of society after "it all falls down"... Almost makes you wish for a global catastrophy...

Really one of the best post-armageddon novels ever. I understand it was made into a film a number of years ago, but both people who told me this said the film didn't even come close to doing this book justice. Great characters, and the glimpses of rural French life are excellent. I bought this 5 minutes before catching a bus from Eugene to Seattle, & damn near kept on going to Spokane just so I wouldn't have to put it down. This is a classic!

I first read Malevil 20 odd years ago. I reread it every few years and still find it an exciting read, always finding some detail or plot point that I missed before. This is THE end of the world, what would you do book. The beginning may seem a little slow, but afterwards it is a rollercoaster ride, you never know what will happen next. The characters seem real, the heros are heros, and the evil characters are truly evil. When this comes back into print, buy it!

One of the best books I've ever read. Robert Merle's Malevil is one of the basic stones of the Sci-fi genre. If u have played Fallout, and loved it, this book will be the best book u've ever read. Emanuel Comte will become you, post apocalyptic France your neighbourhood and Malevil your house. U will live just like the heroes (and heriones) in this book. Just imagine a wast devastated landscape, houses and surrounding plantlife burnt to a crisp and next to a huge rock, the castle Malevil, with its animals and citizens. Then take a devastated city (LaRoque) and a band of mercenaries with a so-called priest and u have Malevil. Together with the typical Merle's hero :ideal man, natural leader, know-how, know-everything, loved by women, but fair and understanding, this will be one of your best reading experiences

I read this book as a young boy during the cold war. There is something about this book that keeps me thinking about it after all these years. I still can "see" the wheat field incident as if I had just read it. I was able to find a copy so that my son could experience it as well.

Malevil starts with a small group of people who find themselves deep down in a wine cellar of an old French castle when nuclear Armageddan arrives. As interesting as the story, is the style. It is written in the first person, as a diary or chronicle--but with subsequent annotations or "corrections" by another party who was present during the events. The annotations in one chapter thereby coloring your reading of the next. It simply could not be better.