Uranus (novel)


Uranus is a French novel written by Marcel Aymé and published in 1948. It is the third book in a trilogy which cover the
pre-war, the war and the post-war periods in France. The first is Travelingue set in the time of the Front Populaire. The second is called Le Chemin des écoliers set during the occupation and the third book - Uranus – focuses on post war France and the ‘purge’ – social cleansing which sought to discipline collaborators. People were shaved, humiliated, beaten and often killed without a fair trial.
The true hero of the book, who is also the victim, is Léopold – owner of a coffee shop who discovers his passion for Jean Racine and for Andromaque thanks to lessons which, due to bombings of the school, must now take place in his establishment. He comes up with his own attempts at literature, such as
Passez-moi
Astyanax, on va filer en douce - Attendons pas d'avoir les poulets à nos trousses.
The novel was adapted as a film, Uranus by Claude Berri in 1990. Le Chemin des écoliers was adapted as the film Way of Youth by Michel Boisrond in 1959.