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The Foundling's War
by Michel Déon
This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
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Pub Date
13 Oct 2014
| Archive Date
12 May 2016
Description
In the aftermath of French defeat in July 1940, twenty-year-old Jean Arnaud and his ally, the charming conman Palfy, are hiding out at a brothel in Clermont-Ferrand, having narrowly escaped a firing squad. At a military parade, Jean falls for a beautiful stranger, Claude, who will help him forget his adolescent heartbreak but bring far more serious troubles of her own.
Having safely reached occupied Paris, the friends mingle with art smugglers and forgers, social climbers, showbiz starlets, bluffers, swindlers and profiteers, French and German, as Jean learns to make his way in a world of murky allegiances. But beyond the social whirl, the war cannot stay away forever...
In this sequel to the acclaimed novel The Foundling Boy, Michel Déon's hero comes to manhood not through combat but by discovering truths about desire and possession, sex and love, and the nuances that lie between crudely drawn battle lines.
In the aftermath of French defeat in July 1940, twenty-year-old Jean Arnaud and his ally, the charming conman Palfy, are hiding out at a brothel in Clermont-Ferrand, having narrowly escaped a firing...
Description
In the aftermath of French defeat in July 1940, twenty-year-old Jean Arnaud and his ally, the charming conman Palfy, are hiding out at a brothel in Clermont-Ferrand, having narrowly escaped a firing squad. At a military parade, Jean falls for a beautiful stranger, Claude, who will help him forget his adolescent heartbreak but bring far more serious troubles of her own.
Having safely reached occupied Paris, the friends mingle with art smugglers and forgers, social climbers, showbiz starlets, bluffers, swindlers and profiteers, French and German, as Jean learns to make his way in a world of murky allegiances. But beyond the social whirl, the war cannot stay away forever...
In this sequel to the acclaimed novel The Foundling Boy, Michel Déon's hero comes to manhood not through combat but by discovering truths about desire and possession, sex and love, and the nuances that lie between crudely drawn battle lines.
A Note From the Publisher
Please note this is a follow up to The Foundling Boy but it can be read separately.
Please note this is a follow up to The Foundling Boy but it can be read separately.
Advance Praise
'Our lives would be all the richer if we read a Michel Déon novel - a modern classic' --William Boyd
'Quiet, wryly funny prose ... a delight' --Independent on Sunday
'Deserves a place alongside Flaubert's Sentimental Education and Le Grand Meaulnes.' --New Statesman
'Our lives would be all the richer if we read a Michel Déon novel - a modern classic' --William Boyd
'Quiet, wryly funny prose ... a delight' --Independent on Sunday
'Deserves a place alongside...
Advance Praise
'Our lives would be all the richer if we read a Michel Déon novel - a modern classic' --William Boyd
'Quiet, wryly funny prose ... a delight' --Independent on Sunday
'Deserves a place alongside Flaubert's Sentimental Education and Le Grand Meaulnes.' --New Statesman
Available Editions
| EDITION |
Paperback |
| ISBN |
9781908313713 |
| PRICE |
£9.99 (GBP)
|
Additional Information
Available Editions
| EDITION |
Paperback |
| ISBN |
9781908313713 |
| PRICE |
£9.99 (GBP)
|
Average rating from 7 members
Featured Reviews
Mandy J, Reviewer
The sequel to the rather charming The Foundling Boy, The Foundling’s War takes up the story of Jean Arnaud in 1940, just after the fall of France. Jean makes his way back to Paris where he has to learn how to manoeuvre through life in a very changed world under German occupation. Unfortunately this sequel has very little of the charm of the earlier book. It’s too picaresque, with too many characters and too many boyish escapades which are rather inappropriate in a period when atrocities were occurring just a jackboot away. All in all a somewhat frivolous and rather tedious approach to a very serious era.
Educator 211653
(Three and a half) Thank you Net Galley. An interesting sequel to "The Foundling Boy". The book is good but falls short of the earlier volume. The chronicle of Arnaud's life does not evoke the same interest in the reader here. At times it even seems contrived. Overall - readable.
Victoria H, Educator
Skimmed through a bit after not finishing this book's predecessor and found more of the same.
Erin D, Reviewer
The Foundling's War didn't work for me. I like the idea of the story, but the telling was very difficult for me to get into and I couldn't bring myself to finish the narrative. The author's style is overly descriptive and the characterizations felt rather thin. I couldn't relate to the protagonist and was intensely aware that the novel built on its predecessor which I was also unable to finish.
Featured Reviews
Mandy J, Reviewer
The sequel to the rather charming The Foundling Boy, The Foundling’s War takes up the story of Jean Arnaud in 1940, just after the fall of France. Jean makes his way back to Paris where he has to learn how to manoeuvre through life in a very changed world under German occupation. Unfortunately this sequel has very little of the charm of the earlier book. It’s too picaresque, with too many characters and too many boyish escapades which are rather inappropriate in a period when atrocities were occurring just a jackboot away. All in all a somewhat frivolous and rather tedious approach to a very serious era.
Educator 211653
(Three and a half) Thank you Net Galley. An interesting sequel to "The Foundling Boy". The book is good but falls short of the earlier volume. The chronicle of Arnaud's life does not evoke the same interest in the reader here. At times it even seems contrived. Overall - readable.
Victoria H, Educator
Skimmed through a bit after not finishing this book's predecessor and found more of the same.
Erin D, Reviewer
The Foundling's War didn't work for me. I like the idea of the story, but the telling was very difficult for me to get into and I couldn't bring myself to finish the narrative. The author's style is overly descriptive and the characterizations felt rather thin. I couldn't relate to the protagonist and was intensely aware that the novel built on its predecessor which I was also unable to finish.
