Leon Werth served in the French army from August 1914 to August 1915. Aged 36, he consented to be in the war, but, paradoxically, he is resolutely against the war, against all wars. Clavel is Werth's mouthpiece, reflecting Werth's political views and standpoint. This modernist novel is not structured in a traditional manner. Instead of the conventional development of character and plot, the book consists of character sketches, snatches of conversations, random impressions, polemical arguments, various texts (letters, official communiques, newspaper reports) and, by use of interior monologue, penetrating meditations on the meaning of the war, thus creating a kaleidoscopic mosaic of his war experiences. This striking anti-war novel occupies a unique place in the literature of the Great War.

Translated by: Michael Copp