The anti-hero

Jean Dartemont young student aged 19, is the class 1915. Mobilized in December 1914, he discovered that military life is incompatible with its detached character and is not made for him. But even sil has nothing model soldier, this is war, and after a few months of classes, it is sent to the front in the trenches.
Simple infantryman and liaison, he will live in hell Artois, the Chemin des Dames and Champagne. Only injuries and stays in quiet areas will allow it to blow over 4 years

Gabriel Chevallier was one of those soldiers who spent their early years to be around everyday death, rotting corpses, dobus rains, lice and this scared that you haywire guts.
Fear was published in 1930. It is one of those stories written by a second generation dauteurs after their elders or Barbusse Dorgelès. The writing is simple, direct, and oscillates between ironic fatalism and a wry sensibility. No pathos, no great theatrics, just the common soldier of a story that could save his skin. The description of the Chemin des Dames, the causes of the riots, the perverse stupidity dune of the officers, and then the final months of the war is absolutely exceptional.
Surprising to see that habit transcends fear, to the point of sleeping like a baby before an attack, or end up unnecessarily expose himself to a few weeks from the end of the war.

Well written but little known to the general public, easy to read and free of dead time, this novel especially for him a surprising freshness and a great modernity. This is a of the best stories about 14-18 French, I think the same level as Dorgelès and "Wooden cross".

To discover absolutely and to read, especially young people, as a great alternative to "nothing new to the west," published a year before "The Fear."