Fear: A Novel of World War I - Paperback
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Award-Winning WWI Novel: Fear by Gabriel Chevallier
A NYRB Classics Original
Winner of the Scott Moncrieff Prize for Translation
Gabriel Chevallier's Fear stands as one of the most powerful indictments of war ever written. This literary masterpiece follows Jean Dartemont, a young French soldier who enlists in 1915 with enthusiasm, only to confront the brutal reality of trench warfare during World War I.
A Soldier's Journey Through the Great War
Jean Dartemont begins his service eager not to miss the action of what was promised as "the war to end all wars." What follows is a harrowing descent into the unceasing carnage of the Western Front. Trapped in trenches and thrust over the top into no man's land, Jean experiences the unimaginable slaughter that defined the Great War. After sustaining wounds, he returns home to discover a society willfully ignorant of the front's horrors—a public and government that continue glorifying heroes while sending more men to their deaths.
Breaking the Silence on War's Reality
Jean refuses to remain silent. He speaks the forbidden word that no one wants to hear: fear. This unflinching honesty makes Fear essential reading for understanding the human cost of World War I and the century of conflict it inaugurated. John Berger called it "a book of the utmost urgency and relevance," a description that remains accurate decades after publication.
About Gabriel Chevallier
Gabriel Chevallier (1895-1969) drew from his own experiences as a WWI infantryman. Called up at the war's start, he was wounded and returned to serve the duration, earning the Croix de Guerre and Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur. He began writing Fear in 1925 but delayed publication until 1930. The novel was suppressed during World War II and not reissued until 1951. Chevallier achieved international fame with Clochemerle (1934) and wrote twenty-one novels throughout his career.
This NYRB Classics Edition
Malcolm Imrie's translation won the Scott Moncrieff Prize, the most prestigious award for French-to-English translation. This NYRB Classics edition features an introduction by John Berger, author of G. and Ways of Seeing, providing crucial context for this essential war novel.
For readers of literary fiction, military history enthusiasts, and anyone seeking to understand the true nature of combat, Fear delivers an unforgettable and necessary reckoning with war's brutal reality.
John Berger is the author of numerous works of fiction and nonfiction, including To the Wedding, the Into Their Labours trilogy, About Looking, Ways of Seeing, and G., for which he won the Booker Prize. His most recent book is Understanding a Photograph, a collection of his writings about photography, edited by Geoff Dyer. He lives in a small rural community in France.
Malcolm Imrie's translations from the French include Guy Debord's Comments on the Society of the Spectacle and José Pierre's Investigating Sex: Surrealist Discussions 1928-1932. His translation of Gabriel Chevallier's Fear won the Scott Moncrieff Prize, the most prestigious award for a French-to-English translation.
Author
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Award-Winning WWI Novel: Fear by Gabriel Chevallier
A NYRB Classics Original
Winner of the Scott Moncrieff Prize for Translation
Gabriel Chevallier's Fear stands as one of the most powerful indictments of war ever written. This literary masterpiece follows Jean Dartemont, a young French soldier who enlists in 1915 with enthusiasm, only to confront the brutal reality of trench warfare during World War I.
A Soldier's Journey Through the Great War
Jean Dartemont begins his service eager not to miss the action of what was promised as "the war to end all wars." What follows is a harrowing descent into the unceasing carnage of the Western Front. Trapped in trenches and thrust over the top into no man's land, Jean experiences the unimaginable slaughter that defined the Great War. After sustaining wounds, he returns home to discover a society willfully ignorant of the front's horrors—a public and government that continue glorifying heroes while sending more men to their deaths.
Breaking the Silence on War's Reality
Jean refuses to remain silent. He speaks the forbidden word that no one wants to hear: fear. This unflinching honesty makes Fear essential reading for understanding the human cost of World War I and the century of conflict it inaugurated. John Berger called it "a book of the utmost urgency and relevance," a description that remains accurate decades after publication.
About Gabriel Chevallier
Gabriel Chevallier (1895-1969) drew from his own experiences as a WWI infantryman. Called up at the war's start, he was wounded and returned to serve the duration, earning the Croix de Guerre and Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur. He began writing Fear in 1925 but delayed publication until 1930. The novel was suppressed during World War II and not reissued until 1951. Chevallier achieved international fame with Clochemerle (1934) and wrote twenty-one novels throughout his career.
This NYRB Classics Edition
Malcolm Imrie's translation won the Scott Moncrieff Prize, the most prestigious award for French-to-English translation. This NYRB Classics edition features an introduction by John Berger, author of G. and Ways of Seeing, providing crucial context for this essential war novel.
For readers of literary fiction, military history enthusiasts, and anyone seeking to understand the true nature of combat, Fear delivers an unforgettable and necessary reckoning with war's brutal reality.
John Berger is the author of numerous works of fiction and nonfiction, including To the Wedding, the Into Their Labours trilogy, About Looking, Ways of Seeing, and G., for which he won the Booker Prize. His most recent book is Understanding a Photograph, a collection of his writings about photography, edited by Geoff Dyer. He lives in a small rural community in France.
Malcolm Imrie's translations from the French include Guy Debord's Comments on the Society of the Spectacle and José Pierre's Investigating Sex: Surrealist Discussions 1928-1932. His translation of Gabriel Chevallier's Fear won the Scott Moncrieff Prize, the most prestigious award for a French-to-English translation.
Author