Renewing the Historical Novel: Jean Echenoz's 14 and the Account of World War I

Extract

[...] A passage reviews the uniforms used by the soldiers of the French army, whose shiny helmets are 'attractive targets' Parallels are also drawn between the situation of the soldiers and that of the disabled men and women remaining in the villages. Thus, the author compares the sounds of the bombardments with the sound of the footsteps of the villagers. This irony allows the reader to step back from this comparison and feel how violent the situations experienced by the soldiers are. [...]

[...] This novel is therefore inscribed in a historical reality that is that of the First World War. It is thus that Echenoz delivers the daily life of five characters, conscripts of the Great War, marching for miles without end, the perversity of bombings in the trenches. It should be noted that the novel does not sink into a pathetic tone, which makes it a historical novel. Indeed, the novel is based on authentic and historical elements, conferring a real substance to this novel. [...]

[...] We see death falling on the trenchmate right next to you. " In this example, the use of would have excluded the reader from the situation faced by these men. We live and feel more strongly the circumstances of the living conditions of the poilus." Thus, through the entire set of these procedures, Jean Echenoz includes the reader in the situation of the conscripts of the Great War. The reader perceives an impression of reality, allowing this work to be inscribed as a historical novel. [...]

[...] In conclusion, we can affirm that the work of Jean Echenoz distinguishes itself from the narratives of World War I. The originality of this work lies in the fact that it conforms to fictional novelistic requirements without neglecting historical references. It is thus that in this novel, passages of pure invention and very detailed accounts of the daily life of soldiers are intertwined. The author's writing techniques also allow the reader to fully immerse themselves in the situation of the soldiers, to experience empathy for this, leading to questioning of the absurdity of war through the use of ironic techniques. [...]

[...] The narrative also describes, with a cynical tone, the conditions of a soldier's repatriation to their village. It paints the picture of the soldiers' desire, which is nothing other than to suffer good wound'. That is, one that ensures a return to their land, before showing that this wound is independent of the soldiers' wishes. It is thus by chance that one can be wounded by the enemy and thus leave the trenches. This irony strips away the procedures of other historical novels that are obsessed with describing a situation that is often pathetic. [...]