A Balcony in the Forest by Julien Gracq

A Balcony in the Forest by Julien Gracq

It is the fall of 1939, and Lieutenant Grange and his men are living in a chalet above a concrete bunker deep in the Ardennes forest, charged with defending the French-Belgian border against the Germans in a war that seems unreal, distant, and unlikely. Far more immediate is the earthy life of the forest itself and the deep sensations of childhood it recalls from Grange's memory. Ostensibly readying for war, Grange instead spends his time observing the change in seasons, falling in love with a young free-spirited widow, and contemplating the absurd stasis of his present condition. This novel of long takes, dream states, and little dramatic action culminates abruptly in battle, an event that is as much the real incursion of the German army into France as it is the sudden intrusion of death into the suspended disbelief of life. Richard Howard's skilled translation captures the fairy-tale otherworldliness and existential dread of this unusual, elusive novel (first published in 1958) by the supreme prose stylist Julien Gracq.

Julien Gracq (1910-2007), born Louis Poirier in Saint-Florent-le-Vieil, was a renowned twentieth-century French writer. Essays, criticism, fiction, and journalism were among his works. In 1951, he was awarded the Prix Goncourt for his novel Le Rivage des Syrtes (The Opposite Shore), but he turned it down. This reclusive and misunderstood character explained that he wrote to settle a score with expression itself, to provide form, solidity, and accuracy to ideas that were hazy in his head.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781681371399
ISBN 10	1681371391
Title	A Balcony in the Forest
Author	Julien Gracq
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	The New York Review of Books, Inc
Year published	2017-11-21
Number of pages	232
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.