Semi-autobiographical and written from the notes Barbusse took while he was fighting in World War I, Under Fire is a boots-on-the-ground view of the war. And as even a glancing knowledge of war, and this war in particular, will tell you: it's not pretty. That doesn't mean that the writing can't be pretty, however. Within the first few pages of this book I'd made a note that said, "It's like a novel of Wilfred Owen poetry." I consider that high praise. Just like Owen, Barbusse chooses and layers words that communicate with precision: "slime, oozing, sticky, found, ruined, grey, leaden, pallid." The reader is instantly transported and nearly suffocated in the environment being described.

Our narrator takes us through open fields full of random death, half-destroyed towns full of suspicious civilians who extort the soldiers for whatever they can get from them, completely destroyed towns eerie in their emptiness, and the claustrophobia of the trenches. Hours and days pass in confusion, in close quarters with the rest of his squad, none of whom know any more about what's going on than he does. People are lucky and live through another day; some are luckier still and get a wound that will send them home, away from all of this. The unlucky can hardly be thought about in the moment, but the bodies remain around them for entirely too long, enabling the soldiers to think about them more than they ever wanted. Life and death are jumbled together at all times, and when a short respite comes from the immediacy of one's own mortality, catching up on their sleep or having a decent meal and some wine is foremost in the soldiers' minds. Mostly it's better if they don't expend a lot of energy contemplating why they're where they are, when it will end, or even if it will end, but Barbusse does get around to this conversation near the end of the book. Reading their thoughts with the benefit of hindsight is poignant. It's often difficult to read books about World War I that depict the conditions these men fought in, and the number of casualties - it's no coincidence that some of the most vivid anti-war literature came from this time period. I had never heard of this book before; I think it is deserving of more attention.

Recommended for: people who enjoyed Johnny Got His Gun or similar books, anyone who wants to look unflinchingly at the Great War.

Quote: "His life is twofold in hope; he is happy, for the imminent happiness that does not yet exist is the only real happiness down here."