''The Foundling's War'' is a 1977 novel by the French writer

Michel Déon Michel Déon (; 4 August 1919 – 28 December 2016) was a French novelist and literary columnist. He published over 50 works and was the recipient of numerous awards, including the Prix Interallié for his 1970 novel, '' Les Poneys sauvages'' (Th ...

. Its French title is ''les Vingt ans du jeune homme vert'', which means "the twenty years of the green young man". It is set in occupied Paris during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and follows a young man who grew up as an adoptive child and navigates through the social turmoil around him. The book is a sequel to '' The Foundling Boy'' from 1975, which is set during the interwar period. ''The Foundling's War'' was published by

éditions Gallimard Éditions Gallimard (), formerly Éditions de la Nouvelle Revue Française (1911–1919) and Librairie Gallimard (1919–1961), is one of the leading French book publishers. In 2003, it and its subsidiaries published 1,418 titles. Founded by G ...

in 1977. An English translation by Julian Evans was published in 2014 through Gallic Books.

Reception

Nancy Kline of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' reviewed the book in 2015, and described it as "a sprawling 19th-century-style novel". Kline questioned the author's sense of humour from a political standpoint, and wrote that " éon'sjokes call his politics into question. ... kes about homosexuals and Jewish noses, especially in the context of the 1940s, are at best in questionable taste. Déon’s prolix, cynical novel, ably translated, may amuse some readers. Others, not."

References

External links

''The Foundling's War''
at the French publisher's website
''The Foundling's War''
at the British publisher's website 1977 French novels Éditions Gallimard books French-language novels Novels by Michel Déon Novels set in Paris Sequel novels Novels set during World War II {{1970s-WWII-novel-stub