Novel
The War of the Buttons
La Guerre des boutons
Louis Pergaud · 1912
Opening lines
—Attends-moi, Grangibus! héla Boulot, ses livres et ses cahiers sous le bras.
“Wait for me, Grangibus!” called Boulot, his books and exercise books under his arm.
Translation by Erostrate
Text quoted from gutenberg.org
Synopsis
The kids of Longeverne and those of Velrans, two neighbouring villages in Franche-Comté, wage a fierce war with sticks, stones and fists. Prisoners have their buttons, fasteners and laces torn off, and go home half-dressed to be punished by their parents. So as not to lose anything more, Lebrac, the leader of the Longeverne band, decides that his gang will fight stark naked against that of the Aztec des Gués.
Context
The book was published in 1912 by the Mercure de France, with the subtitle “novel of my twelfth year”. For his two villages, the author drew on Landresse, where he had taught for two years before moving to Paris. Two years earlier he had received the prix Goncourt; this novel remained his best-known work. It has been brought to the screen several times, notably by Yves Robert in 1962.
Who it is for
A novel of village life and gangs of children, in which farce mingles with blows; the dialogue keeps the speech of schoolchildren.
Prizes and reception
Reprinted more than thirty times and included in school curricula, the novel appeared in English in 1968 under the title The War of the Buttons.