When was Journey to the End of the Night by Louis-Ferdinand Céline published?
Journey to the End of the Night appeared in October 1932. The book reached sales of 50,000 copies within two months after its release.
Journey to the End of the Night appeared in October 1932. The book reached sales of 50,000 copies within two months after its release.
Louis-Ferdinand Céline drew from his service in the French cavalry during World War One and his work for a French forestry company in colonial Africa. He also incorporated memories from his 1925 visit to the United States as a health officer with the League of Nations.
Ferdinand Bardamu enlists voluntarily in the French army when World War One breaks out and later works on Ford Motor Company assembly lines in Detroit. He eventually opens a medical practice in La Garenne-Rancy treating poor patients like Madame Henrouille before the story ends at a carnival.
A critic for Les Nouvelles littéraires praised the extraordinary language while another reviewer from Le Populaire de Paris condemned it as mere vulgarity and obscenity. The polarized response created immediate notoriety for the young author throughout France.
The novel became the favorite for the Prix Goncourt of 1932 but lost to Guy Mazeline's Les Loups. It won the Prix Renaudot later that same year despite controversy.