Here souls are passed from gray to black ...

What had happened: the villagers collectively charged to "'Anderer" (the other) the ultimate crime, that of being different and Brodeck n''y is nothing like he wants to emphasize the 'hand. But it ''s the one who is charged by the town to write a report on the inevitable event ("the' Ereigniës") that just happened pretext qu''il did some studies and therefore knows write best of all. He who strongly wanted to "tie his memory" forever, he will have to release the contrary that of an entire village and trace the 'an untold and the circumstances that led many villagers to such a collective act. Brodeck and is struggling to be limited to only transcribe what was asked and unearths otherwise well muffled horrors of this whole community.

As much in the previous works of the author, souls sank into the gloom, here they saw rather blackish combining the barbarity of history (the great) to the savagery of the story (smaller) of an entire village. While the narrative is in an undefined region, the time could be as much s''il there were all these eloquent elements of our collective memory, each of which clearly perceives, page after page, the shadow increasingly oppressive. In any case, the action takes place unequivocally along a German border, as evidenced by the dialect (it pleases me even to think it could be the East of France so bruised by his past), the day after a terrible war of domination and avilissemennt implacable tyranny planned by the neighboring country.
And Brodeck victim of this tyranny and yet income where there is no return, experienced the ignominy of the inside well qu''ayant escaped his own annihilation (the "Ich bin nichts" I'm nothing, inflicted by the power) by becoming the "Dog Brodeck" camp.
'' Guards' s''amusaient with me to make me a collar and leash. I had to work that way. I had to make the beautiful, I turn on myself, that j''aboie, I pull the tongue, I lick their boots. The guards no longer m''appelaient Brodeck but Brodeck Dog. "

In this book, the history of the horrors implicit and give it, for this will not name them, an extremely dark universality and hardly bearable because probably much closer to a certain human nature.
The author operates with remarkable insight how fear can transform men under his evil influence, are more prone to sinking into abject cruelty worst unreason.
"The idiocy is a disease that goes well with fear. The one and the other s''engraissent each other, creating a gangrene that would demand more qu''à spread. "

This dark and suffocating book is a big, a very big helping heart and no doubt hear qu''on widely talked about (at least I hope).

Mr. Claudel, I admire you!