Hell (Paperback)

by Henri Barbusse (Author), Robert Baldick (Translator)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
classic novel of voyeurism, tr Robert Baldick

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Turtle Point Press (June 25, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1885983018
• ISBN-13: 978-1885983015
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #38,152 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #42 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > Foreign Language Fiction > French
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 40 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 (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.

49 of 54 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 (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

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.

14 of 16 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

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.