Hell by Henri Barbusse Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Hell
Book Review: Close, but.....
Summary: 3 Stars
The guiding idea to "Hell" was very interesting to me when I bought it and in some ways it lived up to my expectations, but I haven't been able to finish it yet (I'm on page 132) and don't generally agree with the reviews counting it as a great work. The problem for me has been first in the general quality of the writing which (whether it was due to Barbusse or the translator) seems fairly clumsy to me. It aims high and, yes, uses elevated language characteristic of the period in which it was written, but in many cases it became fairly overwrought and overdramatic even by those standards and doesn't so much have a touch for understated and affecting detail as a taste for the grand image. There are places where this did work for me personally, though there wasn't enough of them to make me want to continue as yet.
More distracting for me was the author's (again possibly translator's) habit of mentioning nearly every move that the narrator makes without varying his sentences (ie.- when a book reads to the effect of "I did this. I did that. I did another thing. I then felt sad.") Though this necessarily disappears when he's looking throught the hole, it was still a bit much for me and I believe that one can accomplish the same reporting in a much more fluid and organic style. The problem may come from the age of the book but then Edgar Allen Poe (whose tone Barbusse's is most similar to in my opinion) and Laurence Sterne never came off this way to me and they have a good 50 and 150 years on Barbusse.
"Sudo Mayhap" had a problem below with the dialogue and I think that it's a valid complaint (attacked unfairly and pretty childishly by someone from "Zembla"). I had a problem with the dialogue too but it was because I had a problem with most of the characters that the narrator sees through the hole. In many cases, their words and actions seemed to only serve as an excuse for the narrator or author to make a philosophical (in some cases pseudo-philosophical)comment rather than existing organically of themselves. This is something that isn't necessarily wrong or bad and that appeals to some readers and not to others. I'm one of the ones that aren't terribly impressed or moved by that style. For me, there are more complex ideas dealt with in far more flowing, affecting, and, in that sense, realistic ways with writers like Robert Walser, Jean Genet, Witold Gombrowicz, Proust, Chekov, Thomas Mann, and certainly Fernando Pessoa (whose writing I love very much and would never compare with Barbusse's).
It feels like I'm coming down on the book hard but it does have its merits. It maybe just wasn't as good in my opinion as I thought it might be and if you like philosophy-heavy novels and are used to writing that can be a little mannered, then you'll probably find rewards in reading it and should give it a try.
Book Review: My judgment on Hell
Summary: 3 Stars
The dialogue is a bit trite. For example, you have 13 year old lovers each speaking like... well, like despairing 19th century romantics alone in the privacy of their bathrooms. Clearly Barbusse was no master of dialogue. There are some inconsistencies and absurdities (in the ridiculous, not "good", sense) in the plot. However, this is well compensated for by the vivid description of the smallest details; instead of such a thing boring the reader, you find yourself anticipating when Barbusse will next describe the evening light on a cabinet, the formation of furniture, the casual setting of a cafe, etc. This book truly reads like a magnificent painting. Despite the 3 star rating (for reasons above), I highly recommend it.Book Review: One of a kind
Summary: 5 Stars
It is hard to overestimate the power of this book. A young man (it is regrettable that we never get to put a name to the narrator) cuts a small hole in the wall of his room and watches life, quite literally, 'pass him by'. He bears witness to everything: false love, carnal desire, death (there is an unforgettable scene in which a volatile old man refuses to confess to a priest on his deathbed) all the while making biting observations which strip away, layer by layer, the lies we tell ourselves to keep living. As one reads one almost feels guilty, thinking to oneself "yes, I claimed to love and didn't really love in this situation, I behaved in this way, etc...." It is that true to life despite being a work of solipsism. This is a must.Book Review: Proto-Existentialist Prose-Poem
Summary: 5 Stars
Barbusse's "L'Enfer" [translated here as "Hell"] is a great find. I place it with Portuguese writer Fernando Pessoa's "The Book of Disquiet" and Anais Nin's "House of Incest" for overlooked 20th Century masterpieces. Just incredible writing!
It reminded me of if French poet Arthur Rimbaud would have tried his hand at a novel.
It was THAT beautiful!
I would encourage anyone who enjoys great literature to read this novel.
* Regarding one reviewer's problem with the dialogue--- Perhaps he wanted more "realistic" talking, more banality. If so, he should stop reading Literature and pick up some dime-store novels. Of course, the dialogue is lofty, elevated--and, for that reason, to the uneducated "stilted". It's the same reason that ignorant people can't abide Shakespeare. Why does the English playwright use poetic expressions like describing a baby's "boneless gums" in "Macbeth"? --Why doesn't he just say "toothless"??? Why all this poetry? --If you have these feelings while reading Shakespeare, then Barbusse's "Hell" may not be for you. Luckily Amazon.com has John Grisham novels and Danielle Steel books for such people.
But for those who enjoy original descriptions, poetic expressions and flat-out genius, pick up the "Hell".
Book Review: Reviews of works in translation
Summary: 4 Stars
My comments are directed not at Barbusse's book, but at its reviews, and those of other works in translation posted on Amazon's site. Reviewers consistantly discuss the work itself (fine), but fail to deal with the key question: what is the quality of THIS translation, as opposed to the other translations also offered? Everyone knows what "The Magic Mountain" is about. What matters is the quality of the translation. If several versions of the same work are offered, which is most true to the original? What are the strengths and weaknesses of this version, etc.