MAN OF BRITTANY

A male, brawny novel of occupation and resistance, in the story of Louis Travadel, Brton, typical of his country in his pride and independence, strong ties and strong hatreds. A man of instinctive action rather than thought, Louis kills the German officer who is quartered with them when he insults his young daughter, Anic, and is promptly forced into flight to the mshes while his wife and daughter are taken to prison. He kills again -- this time the patrol of five Germans sent after him -- and continues to kill, aided by Jacques, orphaned boy of 12, who follows him. The village, under a collaborationist mayor, suffers some reprisals -- greater threats -- but Louis refuses to give himself up, joins the Underground, and at the close, helps in the rescue of his wife during which his daughter is killed. A familiar enough pattern, not helped by the telling which is heavy with gallic idiom, explosive expletive, and a rather obvious virility.