Under Fire (1916) is a novel by Henri Barbusse. Written from notes
taken while Barbusse was serving in the First World War, the novel was
quickly recognized as a powerful tale of perseverance and comradery in
the face of unspeakable suffering. Intended to promote the cause of
pacifism, Under Fire is deeply critical of the rich and powerful men
whose inability to live peacefully leads time and again to the sacrifice
of countless human lives. "Each country whose frontiers are consumed by
carnage is seen tearing from its heart ever more warriors of full blood
and force. One's eyes follow the flow of these living tributaries to the
River of Death. To north and south and west afar there are battles on
every side. Turn where you will, there is war in every corner of that
vastness." Even from a distance, war is hell on earth, but it is not
something that can be described in the abstract, if it can be described
at all. Such a luxury--available only to the leaders who declare war's
beginning and end--is not afforded to those are sent to fight. Following
a squad of French volunteers on the Western front, Henri Barbusse
provides a realistically brutal vision of death and survival that
refuses to glorify the loss of a single life. As a
soldier-turned-pacifist, Barbusse brings his reader as close as possible
to the trenches and fields of battle in order to dispel the myths that
continue to justify and obscure the deaths of the poor and powerless.
With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript,
this edition of Henri Barbusse's Under Fire is a classic work of
French literature reimagined for modern readers.
