About this title: It is September 1938 and during a heatwave, Europe tensely awaits the outcome of the Munich conference, where they will learn if there is to be a war. In Paris, people are waiting too, among them Mathieu, Jacques and Philippe, each wrestling with their own love affairs, doubts and angsts - and none of them ready to fight. The second volume in Sartre's wartime Roads to Freedom trilogy, "The Reprieve" cuts between locations and characters to build an impressionistic collage of the hopes, fears and self-deception of an entire continent as it blinkers itself against the imminent threat of war.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: BANTAM BOOKS, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1964
Description: Good. GOOD CONDITION WITH THE NORMAL WEAR FOR A USED PAPERBACK. IT HAS LIGHT STAINS ON A FEW PAGES. STAMPED INSIDE FRONT FLAP WITH PREVIOUS OWNERS NAME. TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH BY ERIC SUTTON. THE ELECTRIFYING NOVEL OF MORAL DEPRAVITY AND DEFEAT BY ONE OF EUROPE'S MOST DARING WRITERS. read more
Binding: Perfect Bound Paper
Publisher: Bantam
Date Published: 1964
Description: Very Good + to Near Fine. Mass Market Paperback. 12mo-over 6¾"-7¾" tall. Very light wear, very light soiling. Age-yellowing, foxing. (Store Display-GF) read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Random House Inc (T)
Date Published: 1970-04
ISBN-13:9780394442648ISBN:0394442644
Description: Good. DJ shows some wear and tear. Binding is tight and square. Tanned pages. Careful packaging and fast shipping. We recommend PRIORITY MAIL for even faster delivery! read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Modern Library, New York
Date Published: 1967
Description: Good in good dust jacket. Ex-library. Text in English, French. 445 p. 19 cm. His The roads to freedom, 2. The Modern library of the world's best books.. Translation of Le sursis. read more
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Text in English, French. 345 p. 18 cm. A Bantam classic SC69.. 1968 6TH 7TH PRINTING. PAPERBACK-Sartre, Jean Paul, Bantam Books. Translation of Le chemins de la liberté II: Le sursis. 1914-1940; Fiction; France; History; Literary; War stories. read more
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Text in English, French. 345 p. 18 cm. A Bantam classic SC69.. Binding and pages like new except tanning. FC exc. except tiny crease upper right corner; BC small ding top edge, light creases diagonal crease bottom left corner; minor scruffs top and bottom spine edge. Second in Sartre's famous trilogy Roads To Freedom. Translation of Le chemins de la liberté II: Le sursis. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Bantam Books, New York
Date Published: 1960
Description: Fine. No dust jacket as issued. (091106) Mass Market Paperback is in Near Mint condition. Text in English, 345 p. 18 cm. A Bantam classic SC69.. Translation of Le chemins de la liberté II: Le sursis. read more
"This is the second book of The Road to Freedom by Sartre. It is written in a vastly different style then the first book, The Age of Reason. There are more characters and events and the dialogue and story overlap each other, as do the characters. More of a constantly moving kaleidoscope then a smooth flowing story. It can be confusing at times, due to the style in which it was written, but it is nevertheless worth reading, as are all of Sartres works."
"Up until now the best novel i have ever read! Usually i read novels casually and wouldn't finish it if it were not for the due date of the library. But this one i read from May 5 to 12, despite the busy studying going on. Fantastic."
"Hard to follow at the beginning because of unique writing style that jumps from character to character sometimes even in the middle of a sentence. As soon as you get the hang of it, though, it's an interesting view of the days leading up to WWII from a multitude of characters in all walks of life. You also get some existential theory thrown in with the thoughts and feelings of the characters, especially the main character Michael who I imagine represents Sartre himself."
"Much better than the first book of this trilogy. This text is worth reading solely for the style Sartre uses to move between character's who are all experiencing the moments leading up to Hitler's "reclaiming" the Sudeten Germans from Czechoslovakia and the signing of the Munich Agreement on September 30, 1938. It's Europe right before it all went sour. Of course, all the readers know where the lives of Sartre's characters are leading, but the characters don't; and while you might think this makes all their machinations trite, Sartre deftly weaves together the story of many human lives revealing a fascinating picture of the European mind before WWII. If you could imagine reading this book not knowing anything about history you might believe that Sartre ended the book on a happy note, but of course the entire play (for this trilogy really is more like a play) is a monograph on absurdity. The inevitability of the horror that is coming to Europe sits in the reader's mind the entire trilogy and Sartre plays with this knowledge that he knows the reader to possess. When France's Daladier returns home from the Munich meeting at the end of the book, he sees the cheering Parisian crowds who believe war has been averted and says: "Ah, les cons!" (Ah, the fools! - historically I believe he actually did say this). Here is what Winston Churchill actually said about the Munich Agreement, which I think sums up the book rather well: "We have suffered a total and unmitigated defeat...you will find that in a period of time which may be measured by years, but may be measured by months, Czechoslovakia will be engulfed in the Nazi régime. We are in the presence of a disaster of the first magnitude...we have sustained a defeat without a war, the consequences of which will travel far with us along our road...we have passed an awful milestone in our history, when the whole equilibrium of Europe has been deranged, and that the terrible words have for the time being been pronounced against the Western democracies: "Thou art weighed in the balance and found wanting". And do not suppose that this is the end. This is only the beginning of the reckoning. This is only the first sip, the first foretaste of a bitter cup which will be proffered to us year by year unless by a supreme recovery of moral health and martial vigour, we arise again and take our stand for freedom as in the olden time." Perhaps it is my American upbringing and my study of history, but it seems that Sartre's characters are almost comically self interested and confused, given the severity of the situation they faced. Perhaps Sartre was intentionally pushing his readership's buttons, as it were. At the time the book takes place they could not know what would happen, but Sartre's readers did know and they were sitting in Cafe's in Paris just after the war reading the stories of these foolish people. I can't imagine the sick feeling that must have crept into their stomachs at the turn of each page."
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