Plainte contre inconnu by Pierre Drieu La Rochelle
QR code
"Plainte contre inconnu" by Pierre Drieu La Rochelle is a novel written in the early 20th century. It sketches a postwar portrait of disillusioned young men in Paris, especially a veteran, Guy La Marche, seen through a sharp, introspective narrator amid bars, theaters, and drifting salons. The book probes masculinity, class, pleasure, and moral fatigue through a circle of soldiers, artists, and socialites whose bravado masks spiritual vacancy. The opening of the
novel moves from the armistice’s stunned relief to nights of drink and bravado in Paris, where the narrator meets the taciturn tank lieutenant Guy La Marche, the loud poet Ablain, and the coarse music-hall star Impéria. La Marche’s strength flickers between impulsive action (a crisp drubbing of a charretier on May Day) and hesitant, compromised desires (a hospital scene with a young man, a nocturnal flight to Marseille, then back to the same bars and postures). His contradictions—reactionary reflexes, modesty shaded by vanity, and a taste for decadent company—surface alongside a stop-start affair with Peau and a charged encounter at a fair with Claire. The scene then pivots to Gonzague, a beautiful, empty social comet: he chases diversion, pilfers trifles, gambles, cultivates minor literary circles, and lives on telephones, taxis, and small jobs, all to avoid thought, work, and durable love. Hints of confused sexuality and a worship of “passing time” mark him as the emblem of modern vacancy. Through these linked portraits, the start lays out a satirical, melancholy map of postwar Parisian aimlessness. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
Download for free
For your e-reader or reading app — Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, Calibre etc.
Kindle → Use Send-to-Kindle
- Download the EPUB3 file above
- Upload it on the Amazon site your Kindle is registered with: amazon.com/sendtokindle for the US, amazon.co.uk/sendtokindle for the UK etc.
- It appears on your Kindle and in the Kindle app
Kobo, Nook etc. → Transfer via USB
- Download the EPUB3 file on your computer
- Connect your e-reader by USB and tap "Connect" on its screen
- Drag the file onto the e-reader drive
Phone, Tablet or Computer → Online or Reading App
Easiest: read online in your browser. Nothing to install.
Or use a reading app:
- Find and install one you like, for example Apple Books, ReadEra or Thorium Reader
- Download the EPUB3 file above
- Open it in the app
More help: iPhone / iPad · Android · Computer
Other formats & older devices
There may be more files related to this item.
About this eBook
| Author | Drieu La Rochelle, Pierre, 1893-1945 |
|---|---|
| Title | Plainte contre inconnu |
| Original Publication | Paris: Gallimard, 1924. |
| Contents | Nous fûmes surpris -- La Valise vide -- Le Pique-nique -- Anonymes. |
| Credits | Laurent Vogel and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF/Gallica)) |
| Language | French |
| LoC Class | PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese |
| Subject | Short stories, French |
| Subject | French fiction -- 20th century |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 78350 |
| ISBN (HTML) | 979-8-238-78350-5 |
| Release Date | Apr 3, 2026 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 202 downloads in the last 30 days. |
Project Gutenberg eBooks are always free!