Under Fire (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. World War I Novel: The Story of a SquadBy Henri Barbusse
Length13h 18m
About this audiobook
Henri Barbusse's Under Fire is one of the defining novels of the First World War, a stark, episodic chronicle of French infantrymen living and dying in the trenches. Written in a documentary yet intensely lyrical style, it rejects patriotic romance in favor of mud, fear, boredom, comradeship, and sudden annihilation. Its fragmented structure and collective viewpoint place it at the threshold of modern war literature, anticipating later antiwar narratives through its moral clarity and unsparing realism. Barbusse, a French novelist and journalist, volunteered for military service in 1914 despite poor health and was wounded while serving at the front. The book grew directly from his experience among ordinary soldiers, whose speech, habits, and suffering he records with unusual fidelity. Published in 1916, while the war still raged, Under Fire won the Prix Goncourt and helped establish Barbusse as a powerful voice of disillusionment and humanitarian protest. This is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand not only the historical catastrophe of 1914–1918 but also the literary transformation it produced. Readers of Remarque, Sassoon, or Wilfred Owen will find here an earlier, rawer testimony: a novel that honors soldiers by refusing to beautify war.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes.
- The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists.
- A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing.
- A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings.
- Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life.
- Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance.
- Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
Audiobook details
GenreAction and Adventure, Literary Classics
Length13 hrs 18 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateApr 17, 2020
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Over There: War Scenes on the Western Front (Annotated)
17XIII. The Big Words
2Introduction
18XIV. Of Burdens
3Synopsis
19XV. The Egg
4Historical Context
20XVI. An Idyll
5I. The Vision
21XVII. In the Sap
Mostrar todos os capítulosVer menos
6II. In the Earth
22XVIII. A Box of Matches
7III. The Return
23XIX. Bombardment
8IV. Volpatte and Fouillade
24XX. Under Fire
9V. Sanctuary
25XXI. The Refuge
10VI. Habits
26XXII. Going About
11VII. Entraining
27XXIII. The Fatigue-Party
12VIII. On Leave
28XXIV. The Dawn
13IX. The Anger of Volpatte
29Analysis
14X. Argoval
30Reflection
15XI. The Dog
31Memorable Quotes
16XII. The Doorway
More from Henri Barbusse
Das Feuer: Tagebuch einer Korporalschaft (Kommentiert)Henri Barbusse15h 22m4.1 (17.4K)$2 · $0.00
DAS FEUERHenri Barbusse14h 21m4.0 (5.1K)$1 · $0.00
Das Feuer: Historischer Roman (Zusammengefasste Ausgabe)Henri Barbusse3h 13m$2
Das Feuer: Historischer RomanHenri Barbusse15h 13m4.1 (4.5K)$2 · $0.00
Das Feuer: Tagebuch einer KorporalschaftHenri Barbusse14h 12m4.1 (13.2K)$2 · $0.00
Das Frühlicht (Kommentiert)Henri Barbusse3h 22m4.3 (11)$1 · $0.00
Das Feuer: Tagebuch einer Korporalschaft (Kommentiert)Henri Barbusse15h 23m4.1 (354)$1 · $0.00
Under Fire (Historical Novel)Henri Barbusse13h 18m4.0 (4.1K)$1.99 · $0.00
The CommodoreP. T. Deutermann11h 53m4.5 (2.4K)$20 · $0.00
A Closed and Common OrbitBecky Chambers11h 30m4.4 (140.7K)$29 · $0.00
Thud!Terry Pratchett10h 31m4.4 (112.6K)$8 · $0.00
All Quiet on the Western Front (Annotated)Erich Maria Remarque8h 34m4.4 (12.9K)$1.99 · $0.00
Crime and punishmentFyodor Dostoevsky22h 34m4.4 (1.3M)$3 · $0.00
Exit FeeBrad Taylor3h 16m4.5 (1.9K)$18 · $0.00
The Alice NetworkKate Quinn15h 7m4.4 (887.1K)$33 · $0.00
The Ohio River Trilogy: Betty Zane, The Spirit of the Border & The Last TrailZane Grey29h 8m4.4 (1.8K)$1 · $0.00
A Darkness ReturnsRaymond E. Feist19h 29m4.4 (1.9K)$40 · $0.00
THE VALLEY OF SILENT MEN (Annotated)James Oliver Curwood8h 25m4.5 (420)$2 · $0.00
West of the TularosaLouis L’Amour5h 53m4.4 (3.6K)$20 · $0.00
The Emperor's FistJay Allan8h 37m4.5 (272)$26 · $0.00
The Amazing Interlude (Annotated)Mary Roberts Rinehart8h 42m4.5 (365)$1.99 · $0.00
Hornblower and the Hotspur (Annotated)C. S. Forester14h 7m4.4 (17.3K)$2 · $0.00
Shades of WickedJeaniene Frost8h 51m4.4 (19.5K)$29 · $0.00
The Log of a Cowboy (Annotated)Andy Adams9h 47m4.4 (1.1K)$2 · $0.00
Everything She WantedJennifer Ryan9h 9m4.4 (1.3K)$29 · $0.00
The Ballad of the White HorseG. K. Chesterton2h 43m4.4 (3.8K)$1.20 · $0.00
The Complete Huckleberry Finn & Tom Sawyer Adventures (Unabridged) (Annotated)Mark Twain26h 21m4.3 (16.7K)$2 · $0.00
Countdown to MidnightDale Brown13h 6m4.3 (4.1K)$33 · $0.00
To Kill a MockingbirdHarper Lee12h 18m4.5 (7.4M)$29 · $0.00
These Precious DaysAnn Patchett11h 14m4.5 (45.2K)$29 · $0.00
Pride & Prejudice (Annotated)Jane Austen15h 10m4.7 (13.3K)$2 · $0.00
The Jeeves and Wooster Stories: The Complete Collection (33 Books)P. G. Wodehouse21h 57m4.7 (2.8K)$15 · $0.00
The Gulag Archipelago Volume 3Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn21h 56m4.7 (8.9K)$46 · $0.00
This Side of Paradise - The Original 1920 Edition (Annotated)F. Scott Fitzgerald11h 30m4.6 (1.6K)$2 · $0.00
The Great Gatsby: Original 1925 Edition (An F. Scott Fitzgerald Classic NovelFrancis Scott Fitzgerald4h 45m4.6 (9.3K)$18 · $0.00
The Complete Histories / History Plays of William Shakespeare (Annotated)William Shakespeare29h 42m4.6 (2.3K)$1.99 · $0.00
Braving the TruthRachel Held Evans11h 31m4.7 (359)$29 · $0.00
The Old Man and the Sea (Annotated)Ernest Hemingway4h 27m4.6 (1.4K)$2 · $0.00
Twelfth Night (The Unabridged Play) + The Classic Biography (Annotated)William Shakespeare, Sidney Lee16h 38m4.6 (1.4K)$2 · $0.00
Henry V (The Play, Historical Background and Analysis of the Character in the Play)William Shakespeare, William Hazlitt8h 50m4.6 (1.3K)$1.99 · $0.00
H. P. LOVECRAFT Ultimate Collection: Novellas, Short Stories, Poetry & Essays (Annotated)H. P. Lovecraft12h 28m4.6 (2.3K)$2 · $0.00
Time RegainedMarcel Proust16h 8m4.5 (10.6K)$1.99 · $0.00
Lessons in TruthH. Emilie3h 50m4.6 (1.4K)$4.70 · $0.00
TORAH - Bilingual Edition: English/Hebrew (Annotated)Max Margolis, JPS28h 26m4.6 (1K)$2 · $0.00
Betty Crocker picture cooky bookBetty Crocker, Inc. General Mills2h 13m4.5 (6.5K)$1 · $0.00
The Complete Tales of Beatrix PotterBeatrix Potter3h 36m4.5 (75K)$3 · $0.00
Anne of Green GablesL. M. Montgomery11h 1m4.5 (1.2M)$2.30 · $0.00
Crime and Punishment (The Unabridged Garnett Translation) (Annotated)Fyodor Dostoevsky24h 25m4.5 (15.4K)$1.99 · $0.00
You may also like
Under Fire (Historical Novel)Henri Barbusse13h 18m4.0 (4.1K)$1.99 · $0.00
Masters of the AirDonald L. Miller24h 19m4.3 (22.2K)$35
GruntsJohn C. McManus18h 24m4.3 (1.6K)$25
The AviatorCraig DiLouie5h 30m4.4 (422)$17
Under FireHenri Barbusse12h 45m4.0 (3.8K)$2.30
All Quiet on the Western Front (Annotated)Erich Maria Remarque8h 34m4.4 (12.9K)$1.99 · $0.00
Under FireHenri Barbusse12h 27m4.1 (5.9K)$4 · $0.00
THE IRISH GUARDS: The First & the Second Battalion in the Great War (Complete Edition)Rudyard Kipling25h 43m4.3 (294)$1.99 · $0.00
To Hell and BackAudie Murphy3h 25m4.4 (14.5K)$17
Three Years with QuantrillJohn McCorkle, O. S. Barton4h 4m4.1 (711)$20
My Hitch in Hell, New EditionLester I. Tenney10h 8m4.5 (1.2K)$23
Rising in FlamesJ. D. Dickey14h 13m4.1 (659)$23
The Diary of a Napoleonic Foot SoldierJakob Walter2h 38m4.1 (1.8K)$2.99 · $0.00
Brave MenErnie Pyle20h 3m4.5 (3.8K)$2 · $0.00
Hell or RichmondRalph Peters21h 54m4.3 (903)$23
The Ultimate BattleBill Sloan14h 8m4.4 (1.5K)$25
FearGabriel Chevallier10h 46m4.3 (2.3K)$20
The Great Push: An Episode of the Great WarPatrick MacGill6h 23m4.2 (174)$1 · $0.00
The Middle Parts of Fortune (Annotated)Frederic Manning12h 18m$2 · $0.00
"I was there" with the Yanks on the western front 1917-1919Cyrus Leroy Baldridge35m4.0 (51)$2.30