A review by msand3
Hell by Henri Barbusse

5.0

Instantly moves to the list of my favorite novels of all time. I was expecting a scandalous novel of a perverted voyeur (think Norman Bates in Robert Bloch’s [b:Psycho|156427|Psycho (Psycho #1)|Robert Bloch|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1393286878l/156427._SY75_.jpg|3279468]), but was surprised to find a novel about a sensitive, empathetic, reflective man who is searching for meaning and a shared sense of humanity by witnessing all that life has to offer through a peephole into another room: love, birth, death, religion, fear, isolation, etc. Near the end of the novel, I was wondering what became of all the scandalous material that made the novel so controversial, and then realized I had been reading O’Brien’s redacted translation. But I loved it so much that I have already ordered the full, uncensored translation, and I’m excited to reread the novel and see how this translation differs from the earlier, toned-down version. I couldn't have chosen a better novel to return to reading after several months of a stressful cross-country move (and back) during the pandemic.