Fear - Gabriel Chevallier

First published in 1930, Fear graphically describes the terrible experiences of soldiers during World War I. It tells the story of Jean Dartemont, a young man called up in 1915. He is not a rebel, but neither is he awed by hierarchical authority. After an exceedingly short training period, he refuses to follow his platoon and is sent to Artois and the trenches. With absolute realism, Gabriel Chevallier depicts what he experienced every day, for months: violence, blood, death, bodies ... One day, he is wounded, evacuated and hospitalised. The nurses consider it their duty to stimulate the soldiers' fighting spirit, and so ask Jean what he did at the front. He replies: 'I WAS AFRAID'.