North

The only novels I've ever read that are better are "Huckleberry Finn" and Celine's "Death on the Installment Plan." This book is far better than "Journey to the End of Night" and slightly more endearing than "Castle to Castle." A masterpiece of "social criticism," set against the dying days of Nazi Germany, but applicable to anywhere, any time. Read only the Manheim translation.

A fine depiction of life under the reich. (2/3 people found this helpful)

This novel about Celine's ordeal under nazi germany is a hyperhectic account about his travails & sacrifices dealing with people & places which are no better off than him.What is striking & humorous about this frenetic narrative is how he is able to bring a whole world war & its inhabitants into his hands & unloads them into a style & survivalist frame of mind that is entirely his own.Though not containing the depth & numerous brilliance of journey & death,what this novel has is the consistency that leads to a rough & jumpy ride all the way through.The beginning may be stiff,but it loosens to economic brilliance shortly afterwards.

a rave. (4/4 people found this helpful)

Without reservation I recommend this book to everyone. Celine is the seminal author of the 20th century. No one else even comes close. And North is his masterpiece. He invented the three dot narrative style that, once read, ruins you for wordy mediocrity of other writers. The style and the prose and the dark, but oh-so-true philosophy leave you breathless. You become a Celine fanatic and spend the rest of your life searching out everything he ever wrote. And check out his cat, Bebert, one of the most fascinating animals in literature. Read Celine to learn how to write. Authors like Vonnegut, Mailer and Bellow all agree he is without peer. Read North. Read the entire corpus of Celine's works. Then spend the rest of your life re-reading Celine.

Relentless monology of high enery driven cynical observation (2/2 people found this helpful)

Immediately the reader is swept away in a cascading avalanche of thought driven by the sight of the end of a world that was slowly sinking into insanity. Nazi Germany, the allied bombings, and the constant struggle to survive one more minute in a village where life was determined by food rations and an out of control Gestapo. The book pulses with such energy making it hard to put down. Simply mind opening to a unique literary style!

Celine, still running from bombs, finds himself a nazi docto (1/2 people found this helpful)

Perpetually running from the perils of war, Destouches finds himself acting as collaborator in WWII.. a nazi doctor, routed around in confusion, &, as always, trying simply to save his own skin. This Dalkey Archive edition comes complete with a glossary of historical references.

Forget what you've heard about him writing only two good books, read this: "...whenever they get a chance, never fear, people make you waste hours and months...they use you as a wall to bounce their bullshit off of...blah! and blah! and blahblahblah!...you put up with it for an hour, you'll need two weeks to recover...blah! blah!...hitch a thoroughbred to a plow, it'll take him a month, two months, to get back in his stride...if he ever does...the same can happen to you for trying to be nice, for listening..."

Louis-Ferdinand Céline

Reader Reviews:

Dynamite (1/2 people found this helpful)

A fine depiction of life under the reich. (2/3 people found this helpful)

a rave. (4/4 people found this helpful)

Relentless monology of high enery driven cynical observation (2/2 people found this helpful)

Celine, still running from bombs, finds himself a nazi docto (1/2 people found this helpful)

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