The Death of a Nobody (1911)(Jules Romains [Louis Farigoule] 1885-1972)(translated by Desmond McCarthy and Sidney Waterlow)

[I]n particular, it is with the literary movement known as unanimism (Romains coined the word 'l'unanisme' and used it in print for the first time in 1905) that his name is associated. Most simply, unanimism is the literary exploration of the life of groups as distinct from the study of the dynamics of the individual person. It claims for the group a special status over and beyond the individual; the central task of the literary work is to examine and articulate the character, personality, and particular qualities of groups of all sorts, from the transitory collectivity of human beings who huddle under an awning during a quick shower to families and business and professional associates who spend significant parts of their lives together in subtle patterns of proximity. Under Romain's leadership, unanimism flowered into something more than a cult; it became a generic name for a religious and social discipline, for a philosophic stance, and for an interpretive art. The mystery of the group became the cardinal problem for the contemporary mind and it was to this problem that Romains addressed himself. -Maurice Natanson, Afterword to the Signet Classics edition (1961)

The Death of a Nobody is the first installment in what grew into a 27 volume cycle of novels, essays, poems, and plays called Les Hommes de bonne volonté (Men of Good Will), in which Jules Romains developed his theory of unanimism. It concerns the death of Jacques Godard, a retired railroad engineer, who lived by himself in a flat in Paris. His death is depicted as an event which effects a few acquaintances, his fellow tenants, his aged father, and a young stranger. Romains suggests that Godard continues to exist for a time, to the extent that these people recall him, but with the death of his parents, is finally forgotten. Romains uses a nearly cinematic technique, depicting various characters;' reactions to death in narrative sequence, but as if they are occurring contemporaneously. The novel is interesting both for this stylistic innovation (keep in mind that when the book was written, cinema didn't even really exist) and for the philosophy expounded, but I'd imagine after a couple of entries in the series it would get pretty tedious. This one is mercifully brief and worth reading.

GRADE : B

"Verdun" is, sadly, a wretched novel. The writing is shabby, the translation shabbier. The characters are undeveloped and there is no plot. Although in some war novels the chronology alone might suffice to drive the narrative, here the writer leaves so many gaps in the chronology that the narrative breaks down. No wonder the French original is out of print. "Verdun" is no "The Killer Angels," let alone "All's Quiet." I had hoped to find a novel with which I could teach WWI from the French perspective, but I must stick with Remarque.

I just finished reading this book for the second time and got a great deal more out of it than during my first reading. My problem with the book on first reading, and perhaps the first reviewer's problem as well, is that this book isn't intended as a history of the battle of Verdun. While the author describes the experience of being in the battle of Verdun, he never 'zooms out' to explain the bigger picture. Instead, it explains what the common soldier thought and felt during the second winter of the war. Once I came back to the book with a better understanding of the events of the battle, I enjoyed it thouroughly.

The first several chapters give a brilliant review of the first year and a half of the war. The writer explains at a high level the events of the war, and describes how the French general staff vainly struggled to understand the new rules of war. (The entire book is presented only from the French prespective)

The remainder of the book is a series of vignettes, each presenting the war from the point of view of soldiers, industrialists, war widows, shirkers, and others. Some characters are present throughout the book, some appear only for a chapter. While one of the 'points' of the book is that the soldiers' attitudes towards the war, the enemy, and their countrymen behind the lines were complex, multi-faceted, and impossible to definitively explain, I feel I have gained a better understanding of what the average soldier in the trenches must have felt.

To sum up, this book does a poor job explaining the details of the battle of Verdun, but an excellent job exploring various French wartime cultures. I thought it was extremely well written. The descriptions of being under bombardment were terrifying, and the dialogue between the soldiers cracked me up several times.

I found the other review to this stunning novel rather offensive and misplaced, almost as if the person never read this powerful novel the entire way through. He states the novel lacks a plot and character development but I question both points. First, as far as a plot is concerned, we are talking about human suffering in the face of one of the most catastrophic battles mankind has ever witnessed. There is no need for a "plot." The plot is there, lived by over one million men, both French and German who either lost their lives or were wounded in the filth and suffering of the trenches. Second, as far as character development is concerned, I believe that is one of the startling points of the novel, that is, men do not progress nor grow in an environment such as Verdun. Men die, bleed, cry, agonize and wither away in the insanity of war. This book is a treasure to be discovered and studied by all who wish never to repeat that which happened in our so called "civilized" and "advanced" world.

I have not stop to laugh while reading that book. It show how easy it is to be dupe when you hear what you whant to hear. Knock, the charlatan, abuse his rich clients in a funny way. He is a cynical man, who has no respect for rich people. We migh learn a lot through him. That book is very easy to read and to play. It is for all ages. I recommand it.