Annotated: The Frontier Garrison by Jenő Rejtő

 

Author: P. Howard (pseudonym of Jenő Rejtő)

Translation: Balint Kacsoh

Title: Az előretolt helyőrség (Eng: The Frontier Garrison)

Original Publication Date: 1939

Translation Publication Date: January 01, 2014

Number of Pages: 261

Geographical Settings: Paris, Marseilles, North African French colonial territories, Algeria, Sahara Desert, Niger

Time Period: Late 1930’s

Subject Headings:

-Hungarian fiction

-Action and adventure fiction

-Swashbuckler fiction

-French Algeria fiction

-Military fiction

-France. Armée de terre. Légion étrangère (French Foreign Legion)

-Mystery

Plot Summary: Set during the interwar era of expanding French colonization of northwestern Africa, misfortune has found the charismatic and capable Jules Manfred Harrincourt (nicknamed Pigeon “for his dovish nature,” (p.4)) in a predicament. To provide for his family, he must die. Only if Pigeon were to be killed in the line of duty of a profession will the insurance company pay out his policy to his beloved mother and sister. Thus, the daring and brave man enlists in the French Foreign Legion, surely a death sentence as the corps makes deeper patrols into the sweltering sands of the Sahara and the muggy jungles of modern-day Niger, from whence few companies have returned. Before the deadly elements have a chance of taking Pigeon’s life, misfortune finds him once again, sweeping him up into a conspiracy of hidden maps and artifacts, murder and affairs, and the haunting singing of she who was killed. Will Pigeon’s pride, curiosity, and cunning carry him through to see the conspiracy unraveled? Or will the threats from the shadows or the sweltering sun and sickness fulfill his conflicting hope of dying?

Appeal:

-“Pigeon sailed through the air and slammed against the wall. The next moment he punched the boatswain in the mouth with such force that… the boatswain swallowed the quarter-pound wad of tobacco he had been chewing, and he then had the hiccups for minutes.” (p.1)- From the first words of the novel, swashbuckling, barroom brawl action punctuates each new scene like a Hollywood serial film.

-“‘Then, if you will allow me, I will read you one of my poems,’… The prisoners stood there, mortified.” (p. 161)- Dry, understated sarcastic humor permeates throughout the entire novel, stated so matter-of-factly that it can sneak up on the reader like those sudden tavern-brawl punches.

-“It could only have been the ghost! That woman! The woman with the triangle shaped birthmark. The ghostess of the desert!” (p.124)- Pulpish intrigue of far-flung destinations, murder mysteries and strange romance are the notes to the novel’s call of adventure.

3 Terms that Best Describe the Book:

-      - Pulpish

-      - Dry, understated, dark, and wickedly funny humor

-       -The allure of the unknown and unfamiliar places and people

Similar Authors and Works (Fiction):

-       -The People of the Mist (1894) by H. Rider Haggard. Haggard is one of the exemplary authors of turn of the 19th century western “lost civilization” adventure genre. Another spelunking globe-trotting adventure and dangerous, heart-throbbing romance for the European main character. Perhaps not the most flattering of portrayals of non-European races and cultures, however.

-     -  Captain Blood (1922) by Rafael Sabatini. Set in the Golden Era of Piracy, the eponymous Peter Blood escapes indentured servitude in the Caribbean to eventually become a dread pirate captain. Romance and melodrama abound as the actions that make him such a bold and feared captain spurns the woman he loves.

-     -  Two Old Women: An Alaska legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival (2013) by Velma Wallis. Where the classic adventure genre as most know it is very much a western civilization lens look at the “exotic” cultures of the explored or colonized places, this book gives us a perspective from one of those civilizations. Based on an Athabascan Indian legend, two women must learn to survive in the harsh Alaskan landscape after their tribe abandons them.

      Similar Authors and Works (non-fiction):

-Inside the Battle of Algiers: Memoir of a Woman Freedom Fighter (2017) by Zohra Drif. A memoir of an Algerian woman joining the armed liberation movement against French colonial rule during the Algerian War of Independence from 1954 to 1962.

-A Desert Named Peace: The Violence of France's Empire in the Algerian Sahara, 1844-1902 (2009) by Benjamin Claude Brower. An examination of French colonial expansion into the Sahara, and the violence and conflicts that followed.

-River of the Gods: Genius, Courage and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile (2022) by Candice Millard. Recalling the exploratory searches into the Niger River jungles by the French Foreign Legion in Garrison (and the betrayals and murders therein), this book examines the history of two British explorers setting out to chart the Nile for the Royal Geographical Society.

Comments

  1. Erin CataldiJanuary 28, 2024 at 9:22 PM

    Fantastic first annotation! I love the quotes you used to describe the appeals. Great job!

    ReplyDelete

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