Jay Dwivedi

Roger Martin du Gard won the Nobel prize for literature for the book The World of the Thibaults (Les Thibault).  As part of my France Discovery Project I have been reading Voices From France by Miriam Morton and while she has selected some short stories (Putois, Crainquebille, The Guest, among others), she has also chosen excerpts from novels like Pierre et Luce and Les Thibault.  While they are entertaining to read to get a flavor of the literature, I thought that Pierre and Luce excerpt does not tell the whole story (and that is why I have not reviewed it).  Similarly while The Reformatory (Le Pénitencier) is very engaging read, you are left wondering about what happens next.  Surprisingly, I could not find much information on the book on the web.

This is a story of the Thibault family, a highly religious, Catholic, elite group of people in Paris.  Antoine is the older son going to med school while the younger son, Jacques, is a teenage rebel.  When the father, Oscar, is unable to comprehend his rebellious behavior, he sends him to the reformatory where Jacques is put in solitary confinement so that he can be changed to become a better Catholic.  The very long excerpt describes the visit of Antoine to the reformatory to visit his younger brother.  A great read and I wish I could have found out what happens next.