Summary of Under Fire
Under Fire follows a squad of French soldiers serving in the trenches during the First World War. Through the observations of the narrator and conversations among the soldiers, it portrays men from different backgrounds, their beliefs, the horrors they experience at the front and their determination to survive. The novel is largely based on the author’s own experiences as an infantryman and a stretcher-bearer on the Western Front, although it is a work of fiction.
Reasons to read Under Fire
Published in 1916 while the First World War was still raging, Under Fire was one of the earliest novels about the conflict and is widely regarded as a landmark of anti-war literature. It won the 1916 Prix Goncourt. The book’s unflinching depiction of trench warfare made it an immediate success and helped pave the way for later war novels, including Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front and Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms. Although Henri Barbusse had been a pacifist before the war, he volunteered for the French Army in 1914, at the age of 41. His experiences at the front deepened his opposition to war and militarism.
Setting: Artois (France)
Under Fire is mainly set in the trenches between Arras and Lens in Artois, northern France.
Original title: Le feu, journal d’une escouade
Year of publication: 1916
Nr of pages: 352
