The red collar, short novel or novella, is another example of the talent of Jean-Christophe Rufin who seizes a simple story, which may seem anecdotal, a century later, allowing him to evoke in his own way the horror and absurdity of this butchery also called Great War. In fact, the book could be condensed into a La Fontaine fable with a moral scathing to finish. There once was a dog barking day and night, not far from the cell where his master was rotting, yet war hero but a shocking copyright act that earned him his detention. What he did, Rufin, with the consummate art of a master chef, intrigue cook, will reveal us as the end of the book after marinating his reader to the delight of celui- it elsewhere. Time to set the scene, down-Berry in 1919, and refine the portrait of his characters: the soldier, the judge and the peasant. And tell the war, otherwise than official, scrubs the pseudo-heroism of the troops passed. The red collar is a novel about loyalty, belief in certain humanistic and peaceful values. As short as masterful book. Superb.
