"There is a philosophical depth to the novel. . . one of the strengths of Merle’s novels [is] his ability to evoke the feeling and texture of everyday life as well as high politics. . . [The Brethren] has a credibly human solidity, and whets one’s appetite for the next volume, “City of Wisdom and Blood,” which will be published in the fall." — The Wall Street Journal
"One of the many delights vouchsafed by Robert Merle's The Brethren is the sense that the author is astonished that what he's writing about actually happened. . . If there is a pattern to the narration—a dependable vacillation between personal exploit and public machination—the chronicle is also seductively contorted, with adventures sowed into other adventures. . . Pierre, then, is the human demilitarized zone separating his mother and father. His voice can be self-congratulatory though also generous and gently philosophical, reminiscent at moments of Merle's colleague Sartre. . . Feudal life can hardly seem more vivid than when Merle leaves the religious war to describe, through a smart translation by T. Jefferson Kline, a soul-strengthening day of haymaking or the swagger of a barrel-chested wet nurse with 'milk for sale.' Merle the English teacher repeatedly bows to Shakespeare. . . [The Brethren] is wise and audacious, constantly nudging up against the extraordinary." — The New York Times Book Review
"The compelling first in a series of French historical novels, deftly translated and published for the first time in English. Château Mespech is a fiefdom relentlessly imperiled by the weather, Gypsy bandits, royal and religious duplicity, and the plague . . . Merle peoples his tale with memorable characters: villains, maids, legionnaires and townsfolk . . . Merle's is a French epic, more genteel than Dickens' poor-child English tales and less doleful than Tolstoy's Russian sagas." -- Kirkus Reviews
"There is a philosophical depth to the novel. . . one of the strengths of Merle’s novels [is] his ability to evoke the feeling and texture of everyday life as well as high politics. . . [The Brethren] has a credibly human solidity, and whets one’s appetite for the next volume, “City of Wisdom and Blood,” which will be published in the fall." — The Wall Street Journal
"One of the many delights vouchsafed by Robert Merle's The Brethren is the sense that the author is astonished that what he's writing about actually happened. . . If there is a pattern to the narration—a dependable vacillation between personal exploit and public machination—the chronicle is also seductively contorted, with adventures sowed into other adventures. . . Pierre, then, is the human demilitarized zone separating his mother and father. His voice can be self-congratulatory though also generous and gently philosophical, reminiscent at moments of Merle's colleague Sartre. . . Feudal life can hardly seem more vivid than when Merle leaves the religious war to describe, through a smart translation by T. Jefferson Kline, a soul-strengthening day of haymaking or the swagger of a barrel-chested wet nurse with 'milk for sale.' Merle the English teacher repeatedly bows to Shakespeare. . . [The Brethren] is wise and audacious, constantly nudging up against the extraordinary." — The New York Times Book Review
"The compelling first in a series of French historical novels, deftly translated and published for the first time in English. Château Mespech is a fiefdom relentlessly imperiled by the weather, Gypsy bandits, royal and religious duplicity, and the plague . . . Merle peoples his tale with memorable characters: villains, maids, legionnaires and townsfolk . . . Merle's is a French epic, more genteel than Dickens' poor-child English tales and less doleful than Tolstoy's Russian sagas." -- Kirkus Reviews
Join Penguin Random House Education in celebrating the contributions of Black authors. In honor of Black History Month this February, we are highlighting essential fiction and nonfiction to be shared and discussed by students and educators this month and beyond. Find a full list of titles here.
