The son of a scoundrel
9.99 €
In stock
The son of a scoundrel
9.99 €
The misadventures of an 18-year-old boy with no education or convictions, a liar, a falsifier, and a manipulator, who spent the war playing around. In four years, he wore five uniforms. He deserted four times from four different armies. One day he wore a swastika armband, the next he was a patriot.
In December 1944, wanted by both sides, he continued to deceive. Not only his former enemies, but also his own son, who had become a journalist.
For a long time, his father lulled his son to sleep with stories of his exploits in the Resistance, until one day the grandfather remarked to his grandson: "Your father wore a German uniform. You are the son of a scoundrel!"
In May 1987, when the trial of Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie began in Lyon, his son learned that his father's case file was being held in an archive in northern France and gained access to police records and court documents.
Not one, but two trials are underway. Barbie will have to answer for her crimes, and his father for his lies.
The author questions the history of the Vichy regime, as well as the nature of the incomprehensible evil that drove people to death camps with such equanimity during the war. The narrative is particularly poignant because it is an autobiographical novel that also engages with collective memory.
Sorges Chalandon (b. 1952) is a contemporary French writer and journalist, the author of 10 novels. "The Scoundrel's Son" was shortlisted for the 2021 Prix Goncourt.
In December 1944, wanted by both sides, he continued to deceive. Not only his former enemies, but also his own son, who had become a journalist.
For a long time, his father lulled his son to sleep with stories of his exploits in the Resistance, until one day the grandfather remarked to his grandson: "Your father wore a German uniform. You are the son of a scoundrel!"
In May 1987, when the trial of Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie began in Lyon, his son learned that his father's case file was being held in an archive in northern France and gained access to police records and court documents.
Not one, but two trials are underway. Barbie will have to answer for her crimes, and his father for his lies.
The author questions the history of the Vichy regime, as well as the nature of the incomprehensible evil that drove people to death camps with such equanimity during the war. The narrative is particularly poignant because it is an autobiographical novel that also engages with collective memory.
Sorges Chalandon (b. 1952) is a contemporary French writer and journalist, the author of 10 novels. "The Scoundrel's Son" was shortlisted for the 2021 Prix Goncourt.
See also:
- All books by the publisher
- All books by the author