Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Sep 2015
442 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publication Information
In this sorrowful, heart-searching novel, the interwoven lives of these three men create a tapestry of the human condition as seen through the lens of war, revealing brutality and compassion, heroism and cowardice, in equal measure.
The year is 1918, the war on the Western Front all but over. An ambitious officer, Lieutenant Henry D'Aulnay-Pradelle, sends two soldiers over the top and then surreptitiously shoots them in the back to incite his men to attack the German lines.
When another of D'Aulnay-Pradelle's soldiers, Albert Maillard, reaches the bodies and discovers how they died, the lieutenant shoves him into a shell hole to silence him. Albert is rescued by fellow soldier, the artist Edouard Péricourt, who takes a bullet in the face. The war ends and both men recover, but Edouard is permanently disfigured, and fakes his death to prevent his family from seeing him as a cripple. In gratitude for Edouard's rescue, Albert becomes the injured man's companion and caregiver.
Finding that the postwar gratitude for the soldiers' service is nothing more than lip-service to an empty idea, the two men scramble to survive, ultimately devising a scam to take money for never-to-be-built war memorials from small towns. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Pradelle has married Edouard's sister Madeline and is running a scam of his own that involves the exhumation of war victims.
"[An] assured, somber exploration of post-WWI French society ... Despite his unscrupulous scheme, Édouard proves impossible to dislike." - Publishers Weekly
"The battlefield and hospital scenes convey Lemaitre's mastery of imagery, but his characters - Edouard in particular - fail to arouse much empathy in readers." - Kirkus
"Mr. Lemaitre's background in crime fiction shows through in the intricate plotting and suspenseful pacing of The Great Swindle, which at times reads like a thriller. Its characters harbor so many secrets that part of the enjoyment in the book comes from seeing how the author plans to disentangle them." - The New York Times
"A fast-paced tale, filled with twists and turns, following a mischievous, disillusioned view of post-war France." - Figaro (France)
"A masterly epic of post-war France, where impostures triumph and capitalists grow rich from the ruins." - Le Monde (France)
"You feel the author's indignation ... Who really profits from war? Crooks, the vengeful, and frauds. The Great Swindle is political as much as it is picaresque." - Telerama (France)
"A dark, burning requiem delivered in glorious prose that is as tough and effective as a punch in the face ... It will leave you stunned." - Express (France)
"Its themes connect elegantly with its action ... a striking critique of a grieving nation's desire to prettify its past." - Times Literary Supplement (UK)
"Pierre Lemaitre breaks the elitist mould with passion, clarity, and originality ... moving, angry, intelligent - and compelling." - The Times (UK)
This information about The Great Swindle was first featured
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Pierre Lemaitre was born in Paris in 1956. He worked for many years as a teacher of literature and now devotes his time to writing novels and screenplays. In 2013 he was awarded the Prix Goncourt, France's most prestigious literary award, for Au Revoir Là-Haut.
Frank Wynne is a translator from French and Spanish. His translations include works by Michel Houellebecq, Marcelo Figueras's IFFP-shortlisted Kamchatka, and the Commandant Camille Verhoeven trilogy (Alex, Irène, and Camille), by Pierre Lemaitre.
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