Reviews

La Peur by Gabriel Chevallier

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alexcavanaugh's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

A very well written "fictional" (read: based very closely on the first hand experience of the author) accounting of World War 1. Chevallier transformed his experience of years of anxiety in the trenches into a very well written account of the war by showing his ideological death and rebirth as he survived countless massacres. The only other WW1 memoir I've read was Storm of Steel by Ernst Jünger, which, while no doubt accurate, was quite dry. Fear avoids becoming monotonous by including additional characters and vignettes to express more of Chevallier's opinions about war. Make no mistake, while more interesting than publishing a memoir of his journals, the novel is still clearly anti-war. There is no honor or glory here, just humans experiencing what was, at the time, the worst conflict in human history. I'd highly recommend it for anyone who doesn't comprehend what the experience was like for the soldiers during World War 1. I'd also recommend it for anyone who still thinks war is a worthwhile pursuit, as nothing has changed since this novel was written. War is still masses of people dying for the egos and agendas of a few high ranking officials/capitalists.

ichirofakename's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This is an excellent soldier's eye view of World War I, very heavy on the anti-war sentiment and thought. Fictionalized autobiography from a Frenchman, a perfect pairing with the quite similar book from a German, All Quiet on the Western Front.

nickl1223's review against another edition

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adventurous dark sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

anti_formalist12's review against another edition

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4.0

An honest accounting of the war. It lacks the moral vacillation of Remarque. It's evident that even twelve years after the war's end, Chevallier was still filled with indignation at those who had done so much to insure the war would happen and then did so little to stop it. And he begins to get at something that WWI gave the world a great insight into: war is not an aberration of industrialized society, it is the apex of industrialized society. Anyone with an interest in the war should read this book.

jackieeh's review against another edition

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3.0

Definitely reads more like a firsthand account than a novel (and therefore interested me intellectually, but wasn’t particularly interesting from a narrative standpoint). The horrors of war are all there, as is the anti-war sentiment that I value most in WWI narratives. The moment that stood apart from other books of the era was the moment when the narrator had the shits during a bombardment. The feeling of that particular pain at the most inconvenient time imaginable—a hand reached out from the past and shook mine.