A lovely (re) discovery

"The day of the event," Easter 1977. No one knows why, a nuclear cataclysm ravaging the earth. Electricity stops working and a roar, roar, rumble of thunder, hurleuses sirens sounded crazy locomotives. Follows a rise in temperature door worthy of hell. The land is dead, humanity is occise. No, the 412 inhabitants of Malevil, French country village, which has 4 billion inhabitants of the earth, a handful managed to survive. And around Emmanuel Comte and some friends, survival is organized, with the medieval castle whose base they occupied the cave during the events. And they have much to do, not to rebuild, but already to survive ...

This novel is a story, that of Emmanuel, annotated few chapters of Thomas, making it more realistic and credible. It addresses all the themes dear to the post-apocalyptic literature. Short-term survival in the long term, the sharing of remaining resources, defense against the "other" political religion ... We will have a particularly macho vision of women, women are either old and intended for household chores is alluring and "dedicated" to everyone or sickly.
The novel is less complex and "difficult" to read that I dreaded, undoubtedly influenced by the various reviews we read here and there. It is well written, but is very "French" or country (with a lot of "The menou" "The Falvine" and "swarthy"). On the other hand we are there in the country, deep, caricature, with consanguineous (a vision in 1972?). We are far American post-apocalyptic novels with armed survivalists to the teeth that would escape a limping zombies band.
There lengths, including a very long introduction, which allows certainly illuminate the psychology of the main character (his relationship to religion in particular), but delaying too entering the thick of it. Sometimes too much information can hinder the flow of the narrative.
This religion, in particular, which we shall see the strength and power thanks to the Machiavellian manipulative Fulbert.
A very local vision, we know nothing of the world, with logistical problems and fights very premises themselves, too.

In short, without a Doeuvre leader or a precursor of the genre, Malevil remains a post-apocalyptic novel Franco-French enjoyable and worth (re) discovered.