Riassunto
Riassunto di La guerra dei bottoni
A chi è rivolto
For readers who enjoy comic stories of childhood, French village life and lively dialogue, and anyone who wants to see how children copy the world of adults.
Che cos’è questo libro
War of the Buttons is a French novel by Louis Pergaud, published in 1912 under the title La Guerre des boutons. It is set in the countryside of eastern France, where two neighbouring villages, Longeverne and Velrans, have been rivals for as long as anyone can remember. The boys of each village make up an army of their own, and they fight one another in the fields and woods. Pergaud was a village schoolteacher, and he knew these boys, their games and their speech very well.
The book gives you a war told at child height. The boys have chiefs, plans, spies, oaths and a code of honour, and they take the whole affair as seriously as any general. The grown-ups hardly understand what is going on, and that is part of the fun. You also get a rich picture of village life before the First World War, written with warmth, rough humour and a sharp eye for how people really behave. Let us begin where the war begins, with two villages that cannot stand each other.
In questo riassunto
- 1Two villages that cannot stand each otherFree
- 2Trophies are taken, and buttons are cut
- 3Lebrac and his band of Longeverne
- 4Fighting without clothes to outwit the grown-ups
- 5What the war says about childhood and adults
- 6A tale told in the voice of the village
Punto chiave 1 di 6
Two villages that cannot stand each other
The story opens in the hills of eastern France, in a landscape of fields, woods, lanes and farms. Longeverne and Velrans lie not far apart, and their rivalry is old. Nobody in the novel explains exactly where it came from, and that is a joke in itself. The hatred has simply been handed down, like a house or a field.
The boys of both villages have taken the rivalry as their own. On the way to and from school, in the lanes and across the common ground between the villages, they meet and trade insults. Each side has its own names for the other, and each is sure that its own village is better. The quarrel feeds on small things, such as a shout, a stone or a rude gesture.
Pergaud treats this feud as a real war. The boys speak of enemies, of victories and defeats, of honour and revenge. They do not stop to ask why they fight. They know only that they belong to Longeverne, and that the Velrans boys are the other side.
The effect is both funny and a little sharp. Readers meet the boys of Longeverne first, and they come to know them as friends. Yet the author lets us see that the war has the same stubborn pride as the quarrels of adults. The story begins as a game, but it has the shape of every feud.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Who’s who
- Lebrac
- Lebrac is the bold, clever chief of the Longeverne boys, leading his companions against the boys of Velrans.
- Aztec of the Gaul
- Aztec of the Gaul leads the Velrans boys and stands against Lebrac and his Longeverne band.
- Camus
- Camus is a member of the Longeverne band and Lebrac's friend, sharing the risks of their campaign.
- Tigibus
- Tigibus belongs to the Longeverne gang and fights beside his friends in their clashes with Velrans.
- Grangibus
- Grangibus is a loyal companion in the Longeverne band who joins the other boys in raids and councils.
- Little Gibus
- Little Gibus is among the youngest Longeverne boys and wants to prove himself to his older companions.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 75,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 5 h
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 9 other languages
Questions about La guerra dei bottoni
What is War of the Buttons about?
It tells of the boys of two rival French villages, Longeverne and Velrans, who wage a pretend war on each other. They cut the buttons from captured enemies as trophies, and try to hide the damage from their parents.
Who wrote War of the Buttons and when?
Louis Pergaud, a French schoolteacher and writer, published it in 1912 under the French title La Guerre des boutons. He was killed in the First World War in 1915.
Why do the boys cut off buttons in War of the Buttons?
Buttons, belts and braces are taken as trophies of victory. They also shame the loser, who must go home with his clothes in disorder and face his angry parents.
Is War of the Buttons a true story?
It is a novel, not a true history. Pergaud drew on his own experience of village life and children in eastern France, so the boys, their games and their speech feel very real.
Is War of the Buttons hard to read?
The story is simple and comic. Many readers find it lively and funny.