It is April 1793 and the final power struggle of the French Revolution is taking hold: the aristocrats are dead and the poor are fighting for bread in the streets. In a Paris swept by fear and hunger lives Gamelin, a revolutionary young artist appointed magistrate, and given the power of life and death over the citizens of France. But his intense idealism and unbridled single-mindedness drive him inexorably towards catastrophe. Published in 1912, The Gods Will Have Blood is a breathtaking story of the dangers of fanaticism, while its depiction of the violence and devastation of the Reign of Terror is strangely prophetic of the sweeping political changes in Russia and across Europe.

A great book by a not very well known author who spares us the usual fare of passionate women suffering somewhat silently beneath the psycholgoically crushing ennui of bourgeois, male-dominated existence. Instead, we are treated to the tale of a shallow, superficial sentimentalist whose hands drip with the blood of those who fell to the first in a distressingly long line of modern, totalitarian fanaticisms. It reeks of the same kind of naked oppotunism that so many trendy leftist academics exhibit when they too loudly pronounce their oppostion to the mostly imaginary ills of American life - in which one can buy books like this, which repudiates their whole "critique", if I can honor such blather with a word both longer than one syllable and with a pompous French sufffix.

This novel makes a point of being historically accurate, and for the most part succeeds. Notes at the back of the book help the reader who is unversed in the complexities of the French Revolution understand some details. While the style of writing fits well with the unsatisfactory nature of the Terror, overall the book isn't a great read. The plot is slow to take off, and the characters are difficult to find realistic. However, if what you're looking for is less literary genuis and more history, this is the book for you.
Davies' introduction is somewhat long, providing a lengthy biography of France as well as an introduction to the book. The translation is consistent and I did not encounter any problems that could be blamed on poor translation.

Anatole France's "The Gods Will Have Blood" (1912) is a meditation on the price of unbridled fanaticism. Several key personages and events of the French Revolution figure in the story; most notibly Maximllien Robespierre and the death of Jean-Paul Marat.

But don't expect exquisite characterizations, ala Flaubert, Dostoyevski, Henry James or James Joyce. Such was not France's aim. This is a cautionary tale; one that recapitulates Robespierre, the Terror and Napoleon, and prefigures the Soviets and the Nazis.

In fact, France's articulation of the maddening rationale by fanatical judges--that it is they, not their victims, who suffer as they go about the bloody work of enforcing national policies with the murder of perceived enemies--is visited through concentration camp butcher Rudolph Hoess in William Styron's "Sophie's Choice" (1976).

Only the translation prevents this novel from five stars. Given the fact that French is second only to ancient Greek in terms of damage from translation, and it becomes a minor complaint.

This is a novel by a master (Anatole France won the Nobel for Lit in 1921). Read this book; it's an education.

This is Anatole France's cautionary tale about ideological fanaticism during the "terror" of the French revolution. It is doubly remarkable in that it was published in the decade prior to the Soviet seizure of power, which imposed decades of political terror in Russia as we know, and in that France was a well-known member of the left. Thus, academics rightfully proclaim it as a symbol of the horrors to follow in the 20C.

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this book very much. Not only is its tone self-important with ponderous and ever-present references to classical mythology - the myth of Orestes as well as the bacchantes - but its innumerable references to obscure figures of the French Revolution, in all their historical accuracy, make it, well, just plain boring. Moreover, the characters appear more like symbols of abstract ideas than flesh-and-blood creatures, and so are both unrealistic psychologically as well as put in situations in which they can carry out long and improbably philosophic discussions.

The plot follows the impoverished members of an apartment building during a time of grave threat to the revolution. There is a fervent young man (a painter and revolutionary fanatic), his missing sister (shacked up with an aristocrat), his simple mother, and an older cynic atheist (an ex-courtier and libertine), who gives refuge to a persecuted priest and innocent peasant girl. As the revolution takes an increasingly murderous turn, they become ever more intimately involved with each other as vehicles to portray historical events.

As such, the book seems to be written for the French high school student, all of whom memorize survey literature from secondary sources to pass rigorous examinations. This makes them able to spout facts as if they had read widely, implying depth and thoughtfulness that all too often isn't there. Of course, France obviously has great depth and his historical research is indeed exhaustive, which taught me a great deal. But the book just didn't make me feel like I was there, which was why I read it. Instead, while reading I felt like I was studying for a high school exam.

As I try to get through the classic authors, I am occasionally surprised at the banality and dullness of some of the most famous works. Perhaps this is because I read them from a rather nave perspective, open and as if they are not revered for whatever, but just as a pure reading experience. Thus, my perceptions are personal and limited to my own experience. While the overwhelming majority of classics are truly wonderful, this one was not.

Recommended only for history buffs and students of French lit.

I'll be frank here - I had never even heard of Anatole France before I read "The Gods Will Have Blood." Frankly, though, I don't think I was missing much. That's not to say that the novel is entirely without merit. It offers an amazingly detailed description of the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror, and the dialogue between the antireligious Brotteaux and the kindly Father Longuemare is well written and engrossing.

Nevertheless, "The Gods Will Have Blood" fails in several obvious ways. The characters are static and typecast - Anatole France might as well have hung a sign on Gamelin that reads "EVIL" and be done with it. In fact, the novel is almost completely lacking in subtlety, both in terms of the plot and the characterization as well. Also, the writing style on display here is quite monotonous. The introduction claims that it is "polished perfection", but to me it seems more nondescript and generic than anything else.

"The Gods Will Have Blood" is, indeed, quite informative about the French Revolution. Unfortunately, historical accuracy doesn't automatically make for a great novel.