Volume 3, Number 9 · December 17, 1964
The Monstrous Thing
By D.A.N. Jones
St. Michael and the Dragon: Memoirs of a Paratrooper
by Pierre Leuillette
Houghton Mifflin, 334 pp., $5.95
Pierre Leuilliette's graceful account of his service in Algeria and Suez was confiscated by the French police. Natrually, since several of the exploits recorded are the kind for which German war criminals were universally execrated and finally hanged. But the police need not have worried. No discredit, apparently, attaches to the French Government, or to the men who obeyed its orders. Only War—'the monstrous thing itself'—is to blame. According to Max Lerner's Foreword, this book is 'bathed in a sense of compassion,' we are invited to read it for 'the story of the dehumanizing wrought by War'—but also for 'the affirmation of life which is all the more triumphant when set beside the idiocy of War.' Personally, I still don't know how to 'affirm life.' All I find positive in this book is the ordinary sentimentality and rowdyism which we all enjoy when soldiering. It seems that we are meant to respond: 'War is hell, of course, but—congratulations, Leuillette. Not only have you won three medals, but you have retained your personal integrity in the most degrading circumstances.' We did not say this to Nazi S. S. men returned from the Russian front, however fresh or subtle their style.
Review, 1390 words
To read the full text of this piece, please choose one of the following options:
|
If you are already a subscriber to the Review's electronic edition, please sign in: |
To subscribe to the electronic edition, please press the button below. |
To purchase access to this article for $3, please press the button below. |