Extract
[...] Romain Gary indeed manages to place his novel between literary art and historical narrative. La Promise of the Dawn illustrate the mentality, opinions, and point of view of a European from the 1920s to the 1950s, that of a Polish Jewish immigrant to France, who lived in different countries, enlisted in the French army to fight the Nazis, and who lived a turning point in history. 3. The novel La Promise of the Dawn is not a simple autobiographical or psychological account. [...]
[...] ] I saw a plane with a swastika crossing the sky. That was my first encounter with the enemy (Chapter 27). Or also on the bombing of Mers el-Kébir: « We arrived at Gibraltar just in time to witness the return of the British fleet which had nobly sunk our most beautiful naval units at Mers el-Kébir (Chapter 34). For him, certain facts are worth being told not only because of their historical value but because they allow him to conjure up forgetfulness. [...]
[...] Romain Gary is thus both a witness and an actor of his time. His autobiographical novel, which contains some deviations from reality, becomes a source because it allows us to trace - through his child's gaze as a Polish child, a French student, and a soldier - the physiognomy of Polish society, the status of a foreigner in France in the 1930s, the conflict of World War II, or the fight against fascism. Romain Gary, however, mocks historical truth: « The general de Gaulle's call to continue the fight dates back to June Without wanting to complicate the task of historians, I would like to specify that my mother's call to pursue the combat took place on June 15 or 16 - at least two days earlier. [...]
[...] The novel The Promise of Dawn It is not a simple autobiographical or psychological account. The quality of the writing, combining historical facts and personal facts, allows the reader to travel through time through romantic characters but not devoid of authenticity. If Romain Gary's first wish was to pay tribute to his mother, to 'do her justice' so that she is recognized at her true value, especially as the one who loved and defended France, the novel remains nonetheless a beautiful testimony to an enriching era, that of European society from the 1920s to the 1940s, before the end of World War II and the Cold War came to shake up the established references. [...]
[...] Furthermore, one of the mother's Romain Gary's dreams was to see him naturalized French, which would happen in 1935, a country for which she had a great admiration. It is worth noting that Romain Gary, without renouncing his Jewish origins, did not mention them either when he was in France with his mother, probably thinking that it would hinder his social ascent. It is indeed interesting to note the mother's fascination with France, despite her status as foreigner': « My mother's adoration of France continued to be a source of amazement for me. [...]
