Summary of Arch of Triumph
Arch of Triumph is set in Paris in the late 1930s, shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War. Its protagonist, Ravic, is a surgeon who has fled Nazi Germany and is now living in France without legal status, knowing that he can be arrested and deported at any time. He is not permitted to practise medicine, yet, to earn a living, he secretly performs operations on behalf of French doctors. When he meets Joan Madou, an actress and singer, she brings some light into his bleak existence, and they begin a complicated love affair. Later, Ravic encounters the Gestapo officer who tortured him in Germany, and sees an opportunity for revenge.
Reasons to read Arch of Triumph
Arch of Triumph combines a touching love story with an account of the precarious lives of stateless refugees. First published in 1945, the novel was adapted into a 1948 film starring Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer. Erich Maria Remarque is best known for his First World War novel All Quiet on the Western Front. Other noteworthy books by Remarque include The Night in Lisbon and Heaven Has No Favorites.
Original title: Arc de Triomphe
Year of publication: 1945
Nr of pages: 544
