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A Time of Violence (1966) is an anti-war and activist novel by French writer Jean-Pierre Simon, a lesser-known author from the mid-20th century, whose work bears traces of leftist literature of the 1930s and 1940s.
The story follows the life of the main character Jean, a Frenchman who joins the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War in 1936. The novel is divided into two main periods: the first is his participation in the battles on the Republican side against the fascists, where he witnesses the brutality of the war, ideological conflicts, heroism and betrayals. The second part describes his life in captivity and a concentration camp after the Republican defeat, where he suffers hunger, torture, humiliation and the struggle for survival.
Simon realistically and without pathos depicts violence as an everyday reality of war and repression: physical violence, psychological crushing, loss of illusions and dehumanization. The novel is not only a war chronicle, but also a criticism of fascism, totalitarianism and the senseless violence, with an emphasis on solidarity among prisoners and a desperate struggle to preserve humanity.
The style is direct, documentary, with elements of autobiography or reportage (similar to Malraux or Hemingway in the Spanish theme). The work was popular in Yugoslavia in the 1960s, attracting readers interested in anti-fascist and anti-war prose. Today it is considered a rare example of French literature on the Spanish Civil War translated into our country, appreciated for its authentic portrayal of historical events and its universal message about the price of violence.
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