1 MARCH 1946, Page 22

Shorter Notices

Trois Contes. By Saint Romain Arnaud [Aragon]. (Hachette. 3s.) IN this small paper-covered edition—One of the " Cahiers du Silence," the "classics," as the publisher calls them, "of the French Resistance Movement "—is perhaps the best prose description so far of France under the' Occupation. French writers, including the over-praised " Vercors," have naturally tended to be rather intense over the fall of their country; been inclined to lay stress on heroism and leave on 3ne side their traditional quality of humour and self-criticism. But here, in these three stories by Aragon, are not only tragedy, flashes of character study and charming description, but the familiar French light touch. France is heroic under the Germans, but the French remain human. The stories are told in a casual, conversational, slangy tone which makes their poetic quality the more moving. Nobody interested in contemporary French literature should disregard these stories. The marvel is that Aragon could have achieved such tender and humorous detach- ment so soon.