THE UNDEFEATED

by I.A.R. Wylie ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 24, 1956

Her best book, though probably not her most popular one. One must be prepared to accept the sordid littleness of man- as well as his greatness. The horrid aftermath of war is viewed through the scars left on the people of a village occupied by the Germans, scars made by compromise more than suffering. Years had closed the scars. Prisoners were home again, in Rocquedur in the French Maritime Alps; they had taken up their lives, reknit associations, thought the past buried. Then back came the one-time German commandant, von Freytag, released too from prison, seeking a sadistic delight in destroying the surface calm- and through blackmail, feathering his nest. Collaborators squirmed; victims of his cruelties learned that their hate survived; women, who had exchanged virtue for food, were terror stricken lest their men find them out. Saboteurs seized the chance of insecurity to stage their betrayal. But von Freytag reckoned without three people:- the unconventional, beloved Abbe, who in his youth had loved a woman and fathered her son; Pascal Guis, that son, who had been accepted as heir to the Guis vineyards -- had been in the Underground, was betrayed and captured and tortured and returned blinded, to his home; and Nina Gifford, who had been mistress of a collaborator and spy for von Freytag on Pascal. But she loved and married him instead. The Abbe urged that she tell her story- and stand and fight for her love. He knew that Pascal, in his darkness, had a quality of leadership and a saintliness that encompassed forgiveness. And in the end these three defeated von Freytag. The story, told through vivid vignettes of the characters, builds an intricate pattern against a background in which the village in its rugged setting and the muted violence of passions leashed comes alive. An assured piece of craftsmanship, that cuts below the surface story to basic truths.

Pub Date: Jan. 24, 1956

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1956

Categories: FICTION