A review by leslielu67
Fear: A Novel of World War I by Gabriel Chevallier

5.0

This book takes a similar path of "All Quiet," using first person narrative of a regular soldier who is injured, goes on leave back home, and returns to the trenches. This time the soldier is French, but the sentiments are the same: war is hell, and the civilians, nurses and the generals have no idea what the life of a soldier is like (and in fact would still romanticize it as an "adventure" filled with courageous acts). This French soldier describes to a nurse that his foremost emotion at the front is fear, and this statement is shocking to her. His narrative backs up this emotion. There is some humor - one brother in arms "channels" the thoughts of a certain French general. Longer and more detailed than "All Quiet."