On Leave by Daniel Anselme was first published in Paris—as La Permission—in the spring of 1957. It had few readers and only a handful of reviews. It was never reprinted. In America, you can’t find it in the Library of Congress or any major university collection. Save for an Italian translation, On Leave almost disappeared. Yet it was an important book, and has become more precious with the passing of time. It tells in simple terms of the damage wrought by an unpopular and unwanted war on young men who are obliged to fight it. In 1957, as France’s engagement in Algeria became ever more bloody, On Leave told French readers things they did not want to hear: the silence surrounding its publication speaks loudly of its power to disturb. This short novel was all the more unsettling because it is neither a testimony nor a polemic. In fact, it hardly mentions military action at all.
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TITLEKIND
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03.12.14The Novel France Wanted to ForgetDiscourse in Progress
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01.09.14Flappers, Gatsby, & the Lingua Franca of Youthful RebellionDiscourse in Progress
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12.05.13Thanksgiving Revisited:Discourse in Progress
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08.22.13Reflections on George ZimmermanDiscourse in Progress
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08.22.13Tim Finch & Ileene SmithDiscourse in Progress
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06.27.13Novels and the FutureDiscourse in Progress
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06.26.13Reading in the ClosetDiscourse in Progress
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06.13.13Horace and the Ages of ExcessDiscourse in Progress
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05.03.13George Packer & Alex StarDiscourse in Progress
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01.31.13The Problem with Aesthetic ViolenceDiscourse in Progress
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09.27.12The Art of Political BiographyDiscourse in Progress
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09.19.12How a History Book is BornDiscourse in Progress
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02.14.12Paul Goldstein: Congress Should Fix the Copyright MessDiscourse in Progress