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The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
The novel, first published in 1916, tells a tangled tale of the French and German sons-in-law of an Argentinian land-owner who find themselves fighting on opposite sides in the First World War. When Julio finally decided to fight, the world and his family knew him for a different man. In the end the man who was once a spoiled son of privilege, became a man of honor and integrity, noble soldier in the war to end all wars.
324 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1916
1388 people are currently reading
2890 people want to read
About the author
Vicente Blasco Ibáñez
700 books147 followersVicente Blasco Ibáñez (January 29, 1867 – January 28, 1928) was a Spanish realist novelist writing in Spanish, a screenwriter and occasional film director.
Born in Valencia, today he is best known in the English-speaking world for his World War I novel The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. He is also known for his political activities.
He finished studying law, but hardly practised. He divided his time between politics, literature. He was a fan of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra.
His life, it can be said, tells a more interesting story than his novels. He was a militant Republican partisan in his youth and founded a newspaper, El Pueblo (translated as either The Town or The People) in his hometown. The newspaper aroused so much controversy that it was brought to court many times and censored. He made many enemies and was shot and almost killed in one dispute. The bullet was caught in the clasp of his belt. He had several stormy love affairs.
He volunteered as the proofreader for the novel Noli Me Tangere, in which the Filipino patriot José Rizal expressed his contempt of the Spanish colonization of the Philippines. He traveled to Argentina in 1909 where two new cities, Nueva Valencia and Cervantes, were created. He gave conferences on historical events and Spanish literature. Tired and disgusted with government failures and inaction, Vicente Blasco Ibáñez moved to Paris, France at the beginning of World War I.
He was a supporter of the Allies in World War I.
He died in Menton, France at the age of 61.
Born in Valencia, today he is best known in the English-speaking world for his World War I novel The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. He is also known for his political activities.
He finished studying law, but hardly practised. He divided his time between politics, literature. He was a fan of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra.
His life, it can be said, tells a more interesting story than his novels. He was a militant Republican partisan in his youth and founded a newspaper, El Pueblo (translated as either The Town or The People) in his hometown. The newspaper aroused so much controversy that it was brought to court many times and censored. He made many enemies and was shot and almost killed in one dispute. The bullet was caught in the clasp of his belt. He had several stormy love affairs.
He volunteered as the proofreader for the novel Noli Me Tangere, in which the Filipino patriot José Rizal expressed his contempt of the Spanish colonization of the Philippines. He traveled to Argentina in 1909 where two new cities, Nueva Valencia and Cervantes, were created. He gave conferences on historical events and Spanish literature. Tired and disgusted with government failures and inaction, Vicente Blasco Ibáñez moved to Paris, France at the beginning of World War I.
He was a supporter of the Allies in World War I.
He died in Menton, France at the age of 61.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 187 reviews
October 26, 2025
This novel was in a good position in my grandmother's library. So I decided to read it this year. I was not deceived.
At the heart of this narrative lies a South American family whose roots stretch across two European branches: German and French.
The reader is brought without debate to the French branch. We arrive in mobilized Paris, and the atmosphere is extraordinarily realistic. Then, we join the fights. The description of the front, the artillery fire, and the trenches is phenomenal.
At the heart of this narrative lies a South American family whose roots stretch across two European branches: German and French.
The reader is brought without debate to the French branch. We arrive in mobilized Paris, and the atmosphere is extraordinarily realistic. Then, we join the fights. The description of the front, the artillery fire, and the trenches is phenomenal.
October 15, 2025
”God is asleep, forgetting the world,” continued the Russian. “It will be a long time before he awakes, and while he sleeps the four feudal horsemen of the Beast will course through the land as its only lords.”
3.5 stars, rounded down.
This is a story of the beginning of World War I and the horrors it unleashed on a world, sadly unprepared. It is the story of Julio Desnoyers, an Argentinian of French descent, and his father, Marcelo, who ironically fled Paris to seek a new land across the ocean because of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. His return is ill-timed and he and his family are caught up in the disaster of World War I.
There is an interesting story hidden in these pages, but there is so much political dissertation interspersed, that it is difficult to get at it. There are long, laborious chapters in which the exiled Russian, Tchernoff, explains and touts his socialism; in which Julio, our Argentinian-Parisian, listens to his German cousin explain Teutonic superiority and the reason the world will be grander and happier when German can rule it; and in which the Spaniard Argensola wags his head in disbelief of the coming of the war and the philosophies that are spouted to him endlessly and seeks to understand and reconcile them all. It is a lot to pack into one novel. I had to constantly remind myself that this was written in 1916 and the whys were not history, they were reality; the ideas were not disproven, they were still actively debated.
There are moments in which the story and the descriptions and palpable presence of the war itself is brilliant. Ibanez captures the subtle and then overwhelming changes in individuals and the population of France as the war progresses. One day the emphasis is on life and the next it is on death; material wealth rules and then it is destroyed in a blink. A large section deals with the cruelties witnessed at the Battle of the Marne, when the father is a civilian observing murder upon murder and barely escaping. Another is a graphically detailed description of the conditions at the front as trench warfare becomes the norm. Both are extremely well-done and terrifying. I tried to imagine reading this in 1916, when so many men were still out there, involved in this ongoing conflict.
This is a very hard review to write and book to rate. I don’t think you can remove it from its context…that it was written during the war and was meant for an exact audience at an exact time. I also think that is its largest flaw, that the author feels so compelled to argue his points and present the fallacies of others that he inserts himself into the telling. In the end, however, he does a good job of giving us characters that reveal what it is to experience war, to lose everything, and to fear even greater loss to come.
I had high expectations, so I consider this book a little disappointing. If you want to know what happened in France in WWI and be swept up into the plot, I suggest All Quiet on the Western Front, The Guns of August, and Testament of Youth as finer works. I do, however, think there are parts of this book that I will hold on to, including the sadness of being a mother or a father at the time of such a bloody and useless massacre of young men.
3.5 stars, rounded down.
This is a story of the beginning of World War I and the horrors it unleashed on a world, sadly unprepared. It is the story of Julio Desnoyers, an Argentinian of French descent, and his father, Marcelo, who ironically fled Paris to seek a new land across the ocean because of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. His return is ill-timed and he and his family are caught up in the disaster of World War I.
There is an interesting story hidden in these pages, but there is so much political dissertation interspersed, that it is difficult to get at it. There are long, laborious chapters in which the exiled Russian, Tchernoff, explains and touts his socialism; in which Julio, our Argentinian-Parisian, listens to his German cousin explain Teutonic superiority and the reason the world will be grander and happier when German can rule it; and in which the Spaniard Argensola wags his head in disbelief of the coming of the war and the philosophies that are spouted to him endlessly and seeks to understand and reconcile them all. It is a lot to pack into one novel. I had to constantly remind myself that this was written in 1916 and the whys were not history, they were reality; the ideas were not disproven, they were still actively debated.
There are moments in which the story and the descriptions and palpable presence of the war itself is brilliant. Ibanez captures the subtle and then overwhelming changes in individuals and the population of France as the war progresses. One day the emphasis is on life and the next it is on death; material wealth rules and then it is destroyed in a blink. A large section deals with the cruelties witnessed at the Battle of the Marne, when the father is a civilian observing murder upon murder and barely escaping. Another is a graphically detailed description of the conditions at the front as trench warfare becomes the norm. Both are extremely well-done and terrifying. I tried to imagine reading this in 1916, when so many men were still out there, involved in this ongoing conflict.
This is a very hard review to write and book to rate. I don’t think you can remove it from its context…that it was written during the war and was meant for an exact audience at an exact time. I also think that is its largest flaw, that the author feels so compelled to argue his points and present the fallacies of others that he inserts himself into the telling. In the end, however, he does a good job of giving us characters that reveal what it is to experience war, to lose everything, and to fear even greater loss to come.
I had high expectations, so I consider this book a little disappointing. If you want to know what happened in France in WWI and be swept up into the plot, I suggest All Quiet on the Western Front, The Guns of August, and Testament of Youth as finer works. I do, however, think there are parts of this book that I will hold on to, including the sadness of being a mother or a father at the time of such a bloody and useless massacre of young men.
January 22, 2016
The Four Horseman of the Apocalpyse has turned up on best books lists. I picked it up after reading and liking Edna Ferber's So Big, which won the 1925 Pulitzer Prize for best novel. The Four Horsemen took me a while to read due to its slow pace.
I particularly recommend this book for history fans. It was first published a hundred years ago exactly, in 1916. Although the book is fiction, readers get eyewitness detail of World War I. It is also prescient about WWII.
There is a strong sense of the end of the Europe's elegant, leisurely Edwardian era and the strange fog of a new and more technical warfare, including the first trench warfare.
A briefer and more powerful book also set in WWI is All Quiet on the Western Front.
I particularly recommend this book for history fans. It was first published a hundred years ago exactly, in 1916. Although the book is fiction, readers get eyewitness detail of World War I. It is also prescient about WWII.
There is a strong sense of the end of the Europe's elegant, leisurely Edwardian era and the strange fog of a new and more technical warfare, including the first trench warfare.
A briefer and more powerful book also set in WWI is All Quiet on the Western Front.
September 25, 2025
Якби не наша війна, навряд чи це була 5. Скоріш 4, в може й 3,5.
Але зараз це однозначно 5.
Досі жодна книга про І чи ІІ світову війну так мені не відгукувалась.
Тут розкрито якщо не всі, то дуже багато аспектів життя у і під час війни.
І написано так, що кожна сторінка відгукувалась до болі знайомим.
Мені здається, що можна в тексті замінити Германію Росією, в Францію Україною, і текст буде про нашу війну.
Якщо треба якісний антивоєнний текст (не абстрактний, війна це погано, за все хороше проти всього поганого, в життєвий, з почуттями звичайних людей, їх радощами і трагедіями) - вам сюди.
Читаючи цю книгу, написану 100 років тому, і проживаючи нинішню фазу російсько-української війни, ти розумієш, що людство за цей час не змінилося. І це дуже засмучує.
Дуже раджу, з урахуванням тригерності. Бо хоч вона і про першу світову, але сприйматися буде як сучасна.
Але зараз це однозначно 5.
Досі жодна книга про І чи ІІ світову війну так мені не відгукувалась.
Тут розкрито якщо не всі, то дуже багато аспектів життя у і під час війни.
І написано так, що кожна сторінка відгукувалась до болі знайомим.
Мені здається, що можна в тексті замінити Германію Росією, в Францію Україною, і текст буде про нашу війну.
Якщо треба якісний антивоєнний текст (не абстрактний, війна це погано, за все хороше проти всього поганого, в життєвий, з почуттями звичайних людей, їх радощами і трагедіями) - вам сюди.
Читаючи цю книгу, написану 100 років тому, і проживаючи нинішню фазу російсько-української війни, ти розумієш, що людство за цей час не змінилося. І це дуже засмучує.
Дуже раджу, з урахуванням тригерності. Бо хоч вона і про першу світову, але сприйматися буде як сучасна.
October 2, 2013
Behind every book you read there is the tale of how you came to read it. In 1962, when I was a ten year old schoolboy, my father took my elder brother and I to see a film at our local cinema, called The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. I was far too young to appreciate such a film at the time and I had no idea what the word Apocalypse meant. I remember only two scenes from the film. The first was of a family sat round a table, discussing something very seriously, all looking very troubled, the other was of the four horsemen riding out of a background of newspaper headlines, concerned with war and invasion, and battle scenes. Looking back, I remember being disturbed, moved by the film. It was very grand, dramatic. After the film ended, I remember standing in the cinema foyer, looking up at the poster for the film that was to be shown the following week, which was called The Lonely Are The Brave. A title that puzzled me and made me feel sad.
"You didn't see much of them, did you, the four horsemen," I said to my father, in a disappointed tone, before we left the cinema, to catch the bus home.
"No, but I knew what it was about," he said.
Maybe he took my elder brother and I to see the film because it was about the First World War and my grandfather fought in the Battle of the Somme.
In the 1990's, during the Christmas holiday period, a silent film of the same name, made in 1921, starring Rudolph Valentino, was shown on Channel Four television. It was interesting watching a film so old. It was worth the watch, with some very dramatic scenes. The scene that still haunts me came near the end. An old man with a black, straggly beard, staggers around a field of lines of white crosses, looking for the grave of his son. He outspreads his arms, in despair. Then on the screen comes the caption card. Printed on it are the words: "I knew them all."
At the same time, I found out that both films were based on a novel of the same name, written by someone called Vicente Blasco Ibanez. One day, I will read it, I promised myself. Now, here in 2013, I have done.
I found it a very moving, disturbing novel, written in clear, bold prose that reveals the root of things, right to the bare bones. It seems at first as if it will be no more than the history of a wealthy landowner, called Don Marcelo Desnoyers and his family, alone. But when the family move from their ranch in Argentina to Paris, it deepens and widens out to become one that tells of how the events of the beginning of the First World War tears its members apart, as it does all of Europe. One of the passages that will always haunt me from the novel is the one which describes the conversation between Julio, the son of Don Marcelo Desnoyers, his friend, Argensola, and an old, bearded Russian man, named Tchernoff, as they walk towards the Arc De Triomphe, in Paris. In an inspired state, Tchernoff speaks of war in Europe, summoning in his ramblings the four horsemen from Chapter Six of the Book of Revelation.
The novel is good at capturing how first the rumour and talk of war leads to frenzy when the news comes in that Germany has invaded Belgium. From then on, Paris is transformed, relationships and perceptions changed. The middle part of the book is particularly moving and dramatic, concentrating on Don Marcelo, who remains in Paris, after sending his wife, Dona Luisa, and his daughter, Chichi, to live in a seaside town in Spain, to escape the possible German invasion. From Paris, he retreats to the castle he bought outside its walls, in the countryside. First he lives there, like a hermit, then as a prisoner, after it is taken over by the German army. The battle he witnesses between the German army and the French army is well told. Vicente Blasco Ibanez makes you feel the shudder of the cannons, as they fire, and makes you see and smell each explosion. His descriptions of battle reminded me of the battle scenes in War and Peace, the poetry of Wilfred Owen, and much further back, to the battle scenes described by Homer in The Iliad.
I was moved by the sad tale of the romance between Julio and Marguerite, which runs throughout the novel. When Julio first moves to Paris, he is content to live only for pleasure, living the life of a painter in his studio with his fellow artist, Argensola, becoming popular on the dance floors, while persisting with his romance with Marguerite, a married woman. But when war comes, he joins the French army and eventually becomes an officer, after performing some heroic deeds. Strangely, it is the war which reconciles Don Marcelo with his son, Julio. Before it begins, father and son had become estranged, because Don Marcelo had not approved of Julio's pleasure seeking lifestyle or his love affair with a married woman.
I am glad I have finally read this novel. I am not interested in war adventure stories or thrillers. This book is neither an adventure or a thriller. It is a tale told of how war affects human beings of all kinds, written in a very moving way, on a grand scale.
Perhaps one day someone will make a third film, based on the same novel. It has well drawn, interesting characters, clear, bold descriptions of battles, and at its centre, it has the complicated, ultimately sad romance between Julio and Marguerite, and the grand summoning of the four horsemen from the pages of the Book of Revelation, bringing conquest, war, judgement and death upon the battlefield of Earth.
"You didn't see much of them, did you, the four horsemen," I said to my father, in a disappointed tone, before we left the cinema, to catch the bus home.
"No, but I knew what it was about," he said.
Maybe he took my elder brother and I to see the film because it was about the First World War and my grandfather fought in the Battle of the Somme.
In the 1990's, during the Christmas holiday period, a silent film of the same name, made in 1921, starring Rudolph Valentino, was shown on Channel Four television. It was interesting watching a film so old. It was worth the watch, with some very dramatic scenes. The scene that still haunts me came near the end. An old man with a black, straggly beard, staggers around a field of lines of white crosses, looking for the grave of his son. He outspreads his arms, in despair. Then on the screen comes the caption card. Printed on it are the words: "I knew them all."
At the same time, I found out that both films were based on a novel of the same name, written by someone called Vicente Blasco Ibanez. One day, I will read it, I promised myself. Now, here in 2013, I have done.
I found it a very moving, disturbing novel, written in clear, bold prose that reveals the root of things, right to the bare bones. It seems at first as if it will be no more than the history of a wealthy landowner, called Don Marcelo Desnoyers and his family, alone. But when the family move from their ranch in Argentina to Paris, it deepens and widens out to become one that tells of how the events of the beginning of the First World War tears its members apart, as it does all of Europe. One of the passages that will always haunt me from the novel is the one which describes the conversation between Julio, the son of Don Marcelo Desnoyers, his friend, Argensola, and an old, bearded Russian man, named Tchernoff, as they walk towards the Arc De Triomphe, in Paris. In an inspired state, Tchernoff speaks of war in Europe, summoning in his ramblings the four horsemen from Chapter Six of the Book of Revelation.
The novel is good at capturing how first the rumour and talk of war leads to frenzy when the news comes in that Germany has invaded Belgium. From then on, Paris is transformed, relationships and perceptions changed. The middle part of the book is particularly moving and dramatic, concentrating on Don Marcelo, who remains in Paris, after sending his wife, Dona Luisa, and his daughter, Chichi, to live in a seaside town in Spain, to escape the possible German invasion. From Paris, he retreats to the castle he bought outside its walls, in the countryside. First he lives there, like a hermit, then as a prisoner, after it is taken over by the German army. The battle he witnesses between the German army and the French army is well told. Vicente Blasco Ibanez makes you feel the shudder of the cannons, as they fire, and makes you see and smell each explosion. His descriptions of battle reminded me of the battle scenes in War and Peace, the poetry of Wilfred Owen, and much further back, to the battle scenes described by Homer in The Iliad.
I was moved by the sad tale of the romance between Julio and Marguerite, which runs throughout the novel. When Julio first moves to Paris, he is content to live only for pleasure, living the life of a painter in his studio with his fellow artist, Argensola, becoming popular on the dance floors, while persisting with his romance with Marguerite, a married woman. But when war comes, he joins the French army and eventually becomes an officer, after performing some heroic deeds. Strangely, it is the war which reconciles Don Marcelo with his son, Julio. Before it begins, father and son had become estranged, because Don Marcelo had not approved of Julio's pleasure seeking lifestyle or his love affair with a married woman.
I am glad I have finally read this novel. I am not interested in war adventure stories or thrillers. This book is neither an adventure or a thriller. It is a tale told of how war affects human beings of all kinds, written in a very moving way, on a grand scale.
Perhaps one day someone will make a third film, based on the same novel. It has well drawn, interesting characters, clear, bold descriptions of battles, and at its centre, it has the complicated, ultimately sad romance between Julio and Marguerite, and the grand summoning of the four horsemen from the pages of the Book of Revelation, bringing conquest, war, judgement and death upon the battlefield of Earth.
January 20, 2020
V. Blasco Ibáñez è considerato l’ultimo dei romanzieri realisti spagnoli, quelli sulla scia di Galdós per intenderci, nome importante, autore di veri e propri successi letterari oltre che una personalità di spicco nella Spagna di fine ‘800. Fu deputato, antimonarchico, fondatore del quotidiano ˂˂ El pueblo˃˃ e la sua fama è spesso associata a pellicole celebri quali “Sangue e arena” e appunto “I quattro cavalieri dell’Apocalisse”. La sua scrittura fu certamente poliedrica ma anche criticata, soprattutto quando eccessivamente tesa al melodramma.
“I quattro cavalieri dell’ Apocalisse” è un romanzo sulla guerra, scritto durante la guerra, concepito nel 1914 sull’ultimo transatlantico tedesco che toccò le coste francesi prima dello scoppio del conflitto, quando l’orgoglio delle grandi potenze ventilava l’ipotesi di una guerra veloce, di una guerra preventiva, igienica e necessaria. Nasce, nella sua crudezza realistica - quella che rappresenta le azioni belliche appunto- non da una fervida immaginazione ma dall’esperienza diretta che il suo autore fece del conflitto in qualità di inviato speciale, dopo la prima battaglia della Marna, non per i giornali, ma per la nazione. L’ incarico infatti lo ricevette dal Presidente Poincaré, con la raccomandazione di farne materia di un romanzo che servisse la causa degli Alleati rappresentando l’atrocità delle operazioni belliche. Si legge in realtà un sentito odio per i tedeschi, per gli invasori, comprensibile a livello umano e sicuro specchio dei sentimenti che agitarono gli animi in quel periodo, ma , se si sorvola su questo aspetto, direi troppo marcato, e si giunge a fine lettura, ci si rende conto che a questo si aggiunge un sentimento di fratellanza che accomuna francesi e tedeschi nel dolore, nella perdita, nel lutto, nella sofferenza. Il romanzo è anche un bellissimo affresco dell’Europa emigrata in Sud America, dei figli di una terra vecchia e percorsa ripetutamente da insanabili conflitti che trovano pace e soprattutto ricchezza nel Nuovo Mondo. Sono rappresentate epiche storie di conquista e di riscatto, di amore e di conflitto, tra singoli e tra famiglie, di sopportazioni e di convivenze e, stagliati sullo sfondo, personaggi ben delineati, perfettamente caratterizzati, indelebili nella mente del lettore. Figure prevalentemente maschili, vincenti e poi irrimediabilmente condannate a lenta e sofferta decadenza. Sono gauchos, sono borghesi, sono transfrontalieri, sono cittadini senza patria, sono trapiantati in una terra che li ha arricchiti e che si portano nel cuore anche quando tornano in Europa. Sono l’emblema di un vecchio continente in rovina. Molto complesse ed efficaci anche le figure femminili, tragiche eroine, ai confini di un mondo ancora prepotentemente maschile. Suggestive le pagine dedicate a Parigi, città che teme la guerra, città che fiuta il nemico, città che si prepara ad una possibile disfatta. Un romanzo di gradevole lettura, indubbiamente interessante perché riflette gli umori del tempo, privo però di quel necessario afflato lirico che lo avrebbe reso un capolavoro e purtroppo uno scritto eccessivamente nazionalista.
“I quattro cavalieri dell’ Apocalisse” è un romanzo sulla guerra, scritto durante la guerra, concepito nel 1914 sull’ultimo transatlantico tedesco che toccò le coste francesi prima dello scoppio del conflitto, quando l’orgoglio delle grandi potenze ventilava l’ipotesi di una guerra veloce, di una guerra preventiva, igienica e necessaria. Nasce, nella sua crudezza realistica - quella che rappresenta le azioni belliche appunto- non da una fervida immaginazione ma dall’esperienza diretta che il suo autore fece del conflitto in qualità di inviato speciale, dopo la prima battaglia della Marna, non per i giornali, ma per la nazione. L’ incarico infatti lo ricevette dal Presidente Poincaré, con la raccomandazione di farne materia di un romanzo che servisse la causa degli Alleati rappresentando l’atrocità delle operazioni belliche. Si legge in realtà un sentito odio per i tedeschi, per gli invasori, comprensibile a livello umano e sicuro specchio dei sentimenti che agitarono gli animi in quel periodo, ma , se si sorvola su questo aspetto, direi troppo marcato, e si giunge a fine lettura, ci si rende conto che a questo si aggiunge un sentimento di fratellanza che accomuna francesi e tedeschi nel dolore, nella perdita, nel lutto, nella sofferenza. Il romanzo è anche un bellissimo affresco dell’Europa emigrata in Sud America, dei figli di una terra vecchia e percorsa ripetutamente da insanabili conflitti che trovano pace e soprattutto ricchezza nel Nuovo Mondo. Sono rappresentate epiche storie di conquista e di riscatto, di amore e di conflitto, tra singoli e tra famiglie, di sopportazioni e di convivenze e, stagliati sullo sfondo, personaggi ben delineati, perfettamente caratterizzati, indelebili nella mente del lettore. Figure prevalentemente maschili, vincenti e poi irrimediabilmente condannate a lenta e sofferta decadenza. Sono gauchos, sono borghesi, sono transfrontalieri, sono cittadini senza patria, sono trapiantati in una terra che li ha arricchiti e che si portano nel cuore anche quando tornano in Europa. Sono l’emblema di un vecchio continente in rovina. Molto complesse ed efficaci anche le figure femminili, tragiche eroine, ai confini di un mondo ancora prepotentemente maschile. Suggestive le pagine dedicate a Parigi, città che teme la guerra, città che fiuta il nemico, città che si prepara ad una possibile disfatta. Un romanzo di gradevole lettura, indubbiamente interessante perché riflette gli umori del tempo, privo però di quel necessario afflato lirico che lo avrebbe reso un capolavoro e purtroppo uno scritto eccessivamente nazionalista.
March 6, 2021
Realmente cuando me encontré este libro viejo y abandonado con las huellas del paso del tiempo y la edición de 1954 dude en comprarlo, pero el tema me atraía (los cuatro jinetes del apocalipsis) y a pesar que en el momento que lo compre no tenia idea que se desarrollaba en la primera guerra mundial y pondría como base el destino de familias de diferentes nacionalidades (Argentina, Francia y Alemania) no me sentí a traído en un momento dado de mi vida a leerlo, pero como la lectura te sorprende a lo largo de las paginas, "este libro me dejo sorprendido totalmente".
¿Que me dejo este libro?
Contexto histórico
Si bien es una novela de Ficción enfocada principalmente en el genero romántico, tiene una base histórica en la cual te permite sentir las situaciones que en esa época se vivió, algo que me gusto del autor en esta novela fue el análisis social, cultural, económico y científico que llevo poco a poco al desgarre del ser humano y dirigirse al desarrollo del salvajismo total que puede desarrollar un ser humano.
La unión del termino de los "cuatro jinetes del apocalipsis" y el desarrollo de la "primera guerra mundial" fue un partiaguas para que este libro me encantada, lo recomiendo ampliamete si quieres un libro que te lleve a una época donde el mundo se creía en la cúspide la civilización donde no existían la tecnología actual y su medio de comunicación a larga distancia era las cartas y la espera angustiosa de respuesta de los seres querido, también mezcla la parte romántica enfocadas en la destrucción y la muerte por la "Bestia".
¿Que me dejo este libro?
Contexto histórico
Si bien es una novela de Ficción enfocada principalmente en el genero romántico, tiene una base histórica en la cual te permite sentir las situaciones que en esa época se vivió, algo que me gusto del autor en esta novela fue el análisis social, cultural, económico y científico que llevo poco a poco al desgarre del ser humano y dirigirse al desarrollo del salvajismo total que puede desarrollar un ser humano.
La unión del termino de los "cuatro jinetes del apocalipsis" y el desarrollo de la "primera guerra mundial" fue un partiaguas para que este libro me encantada, lo recomiendo ampliamete si quieres un libro que te lleve a una época donde el mundo se creía en la cúspide la civilización donde no existían la tecnología actual y su medio de comunicación a larga distancia era las cartas y la espera angustiosa de respuesta de los seres querido, también mezcla la parte romántica enfocadas en la destrucción y la muerte por la "Bestia".
July 25, 2018
Dünyada en çok okunan savaş romanı olduğunu öğrendiğim andan itibaren kitabı okumak için sabırsızlanıyorum. Birinci dünya savaşını ve dönemin Alman halkını, Fransız yanlısı olduğunu düşündüğüm bir bakış açısı ile anlatmış yazar. Tabii bunda dönemin Fransa cumhurbaşkanı olan Raymond Poincare tarafından gözlem yapması ve propaganda aracı olarak kullanılabilecek romanlar yazması için Marne Savaşı' na gönderilmiş olmasının etkisi büyüktür eminim. Savaşın dehşeti, vatanseverlik,milliyetçiliğin uçlarını ve hatta İkinci dünya savaşının işaretlerini bu kitapta bulabilirsiniz. Natüralizmin İspanyol temsilcisi olarak bilinen yazarın kitabında yer verdiği savaş tasvirleri oldukça etkileyiciydi ve bu kitabı oldukça sürükleyici bir hale getirmiş. Okunmasını kesinlikle tavsiye ederim.
December 31, 2024
İnsan ıstırabı dünyanın her yerinde aynıdır.
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Dünya klasikleri okuma kulübünün kitabıydı Mahşerin Dört Atlısı. Eğer grup olmasa bu kitabı alıp okur muydum emin değilim dorusu. Mahşerin Dört Atlısı okuru savaşın dehşetiyle yüzleşmek zorunda kalan Avrupa’ya götürüyor. Ama öncesinde enteresan bir başlangıç yaparak Güney Amerika’da zenginleşen enteresan bir karakter olan Desnoyers’in hayatını anlatıyor. Devamında hikaye Fransa’ya taşınıyor ve dört atlının sesleri yavaştan duyulmaya başlanıyor. Savaş karşıtı metinlerden olması nedeniyle taktir etmiş olsam da okurken sıkıldığım çok fazla kısım vardı. Baba Desnoyers’in bölümleri enteresandı özellikle de başlangıcı beğendim. Ancak devamında cidden sıkıldım. Savaşın anlamsızlığına, vahşetine ve ardında bıraktığı yıkıma güzel değinmiş. Genelde 2. Dünya Savaşı hakkındaki kitaplar daha ‘popüler’ olduğundan öncesinde geçen bir kitabı okumak farklı bir bakış kazandırdı. Yazar 1928 yılında hayatını kaybettiğinden 2.D.S. ve Soğuk Savaş’ın etkilerini görememiş ancak bu kitabında bir kan davası gibi sürekli olarak birbirine girecek milletlerin de sinyalini vermiş. Bu kitabın 1. Dünya Savaşı sırasında yazılması ise ayrı etkileyici. Uyuyan ejderha sembolünün kullanılmasını da çok beğendim. İlle de alın okuyun diyeceğim klasiklerden olmadı maalesef ama ilginizi çektiyse bakabilirsiniz.
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Dünya klasikleri okuma kulübünün kitabıydı Mahşerin Dört Atlısı. Eğer grup olmasa bu kitabı alıp okur muydum emin değilim dorusu. Mahşerin Dört Atlısı okuru savaşın dehşetiyle yüzleşmek zorunda kalan Avrupa’ya götürüyor. Ama öncesinde enteresan bir başlangıç yaparak Güney Amerika’da zenginleşen enteresan bir karakter olan Desnoyers’in hayatını anlatıyor. Devamında hikaye Fransa’ya taşınıyor ve dört atlının sesleri yavaştan duyulmaya başlanıyor. Savaş karşıtı metinlerden olması nedeniyle taktir etmiş olsam da okurken sıkıldığım çok fazla kısım vardı. Baba Desnoyers’in bölümleri enteresandı özellikle de başlangıcı beğendim. Ancak devamında cidden sıkıldım. Savaşın anlamsızlığına, vahşetine ve ardında bıraktığı yıkıma güzel değinmiş. Genelde 2. Dünya Savaşı hakkındaki kitaplar daha ‘popüler’ olduğundan öncesinde geçen bir kitabı okumak farklı bir bakış kazandırdı. Yazar 1928 yılında hayatını kaybettiğinden 2.D.S. ve Soğuk Savaş’ın etkilerini görememiş ancak bu kitabında bir kan davası gibi sürekli olarak birbirine girecek milletlerin de sinyalini vermiş. Bu kitabın 1. Dünya Savaşı sırasında yazılması ise ayrı etkileyici. Uyuyan ejderha sembolünün kullanılmasını da çok beğendim. İlle de alın okuyun diyeceğim klasiklerden olmadı maalesef ama ilginizi çektiyse bakabilirsiniz.
November 29, 2022
1916 yılında I.Dünya Savaşı'nı Marne Çarpışması üzerinden anlatan ama bununla birlikte Don Marcello Desnoyers ve oğlu Julio Desnoyers'in hayatları üzerinden kırk yıllık bir dönemi hikâye eden harika bir romandı. Romantik unsurların eksik olmadığı gerçekçi bir roman. İsminden de anlaşılacağı gibi Hristiyan mitolojisine bazı göndermelerle yüklü bir metin. Özellikle Belle Epoque dönemi Paris'i, sosyal ayrışmayı, kültürel çatışmayı, çarpık milliyetçi zihniyetin yol açtığı zulmü, kadın ve erkek meselesini, güzel bir aşk hikayesini de kapsayan sürükleyici bir klasik eser.
Türkçe'de şimdilik sadece bu kitap var. Aslında pek üretken ve bilinen bir yazar olmasına rağmen bizim yayıncılarımız rağbet etmemiş.
Daha önce Adnan Cemgil çevirisiyle yayımlanan Baharlar Açarken ve 2007'de yayımlanan Fırtınadan Önce Şark İstanbul 1907 (Neyyire Gül Işık çevirisi) kitaplarını da bulmak zor.
Evet, Ibanez İstanbul'a da gelmiş ve çok etkilendiği bu şehri anlatmış.
Yazar Vicente Blasco Ibanez'in özellikle Emile Zola'dan etkilendiği söyleniyor. Bir rivayete göre de Cervantes'in ardından en çok çevrilen İspanyol yazarmış. Ama belki bu günlerde Gonçalo M.Tavares bu sıralamayı değiştirmiştir.
Okumanızı önereceğim klasiklerden biri olarak burada yerini alsın. Bu yıl Gergedan'daki atölyemizin en sevilen klasik romanı payesini de ona verdik
Türkçe'de şimdilik sadece bu kitap var. Aslında pek üretken ve bilinen bir yazar olmasına rağmen bizim yayıncılarımız rağbet etmemiş.
Daha önce Adnan Cemgil çevirisiyle yayımlanan Baharlar Açarken ve 2007'de yayımlanan Fırtınadan Önce Şark İstanbul 1907 (Neyyire Gül Işık çevirisi) kitaplarını da bulmak zor.
Evet, Ibanez İstanbul'a da gelmiş ve çok etkilendiği bu şehri anlatmış.
Yazar Vicente Blasco Ibanez'in özellikle Emile Zola'dan etkilendiği söyleniyor. Bir rivayete göre de Cervantes'in ardından en çok çevrilen İspanyol yazarmış. Ama belki bu günlerde Gonçalo M.Tavares bu sıralamayı değiştirmiştir.
Okumanızı önereceğim klasiklerden biri olarak burada yerini alsın. Bu yıl Gergedan'daki atölyemizin en sevilen klasik romanı payesini de ona verdik
February 5, 2023
Utilizando como telón de fondo la rivalidad en el seno de una familia pudiente, el autor nos muestra cómo, encabezados por la Guerra (I Guerra Mundial), los jinetes del Apocalipsis pueden azotar a la humanidad y no hacen distinciones de raza, nacionalidad, edad, sexo o estatus social.
Una lectura muy recomendable.
📖❤️
Una lectura muy recomendable.
📖❤️
February 1, 2010
El problema con esta obra (del año 1926) es que fue concebida bajo el espíritu que dominó a los aliados en la primera posguerra: Alemania es el único culpable de todos los horrores (detalladamente descriptos en el largo capítulo titulado "La invasión"). Todos los personajes germanos son alternativamente presentados como orgullosos, intolerantes, demonios, perversos, traicioneros, impiadosos, adjetivos todos con los que también se califica a su sanguinario emperador. Nada los detiene en su búsqueda del poder total por medio de la guerra. Los franceses, en cambio, son un pueblo sabio y republicano, que ante el ataque extranjero no tiene más remedio que responder con más guerra. Ni una sola palabra de autocrítica al imperialismo francés. Ni un solo personaje pacifista en una novela que se vendió como antibélica. El militarismo y afán de guerra se incrementa más y más a medida que avanza el libro. Y eso a pesar de que la mayor parte de los personajes principales van cayendo en la batalla. Por si fuera poco, Blasco Ibañez no ahorra eurocentrismo a la hora de pintar a los nuevos ricos argetinos que han conquistado París. Peor parados quedan los "salvajes" africanos, orientales o indios de las pampas, aunque el autor los prefiere antes que a los alemanes. Inadmisible.
May 17, 2023
Vicente Blasco Ibáñez nos regala una fotografía muy detallada de la I Guerra Mundial. Guerra muy poco retratada en la literatura, a comparación de la II.
Esta obra fue un reto grandísimo, porque honestamente muchas de sus páginas me resultaron terriblemente aburridas y me ocasionaron un bloqueo lector de 2 meses. Tuve que acompañarme de un audiolibro para obligarme a retomar y finalizarlo.
Su nombre, se explica y desgrana, grano por grano a lo largo de todas sus páginas. No sé si serán personajes que recordaré, pero las imágenes de los sucesos, es como ver una fotografía a todo color en ultra HD y esto es lo más valioso de la obra. Pocos autores pueden recrear esos detalles en nuestras cabezas, no solo colores, texturas, aromas e incluso sabores. Fue una experiencia, a fin de cuentas, tediosa y grata.
No recomendado si se tiene poca experiencia en la lectura.
Esta obra fue un reto grandísimo, porque honestamente muchas de sus páginas me resultaron terriblemente aburridas y me ocasionaron un bloqueo lector de 2 meses. Tuve que acompañarme de un audiolibro para obligarme a retomar y finalizarlo.
Su nombre, se explica y desgrana, grano por grano a lo largo de todas sus páginas. No sé si serán personajes que recordaré, pero las imágenes de los sucesos, es como ver una fotografía a todo color en ultra HD y esto es lo más valioso de la obra. Pocos autores pueden recrear esos detalles en nuestras cabezas, no solo colores, texturas, aromas e incluso sabores. Fue una experiencia, a fin de cuentas, tediosa y grata.
No recomendado si se tiene poca experiencia en la lectura.
January 13, 2021
Abandoned at halfway mark. Too preachy, with the dialogue seeming more like speeches than anything natural. Disappointing.
dnf
June 2, 2022DNF. 438 sayfalık kitabın 210 sayfasını okudum, devam etmeyeceğim. Bundan daha taraflı, propaganda materyalinden farksız, insanın sabrını zorlayan bir kurgu eser okuduğumu hatırlamıyorum. Yazarın özellikle ilk dönem eserlerinin ideolojik ağırlıkları sebebiyle eleştirildiği bilgisi kitabın arka kapağında bile mevcut fakat bu kadar bağnaz bir yaklaşım beklemiyordum.
Kitap genel olarak Birinci Dünya Savaşı'nda Fransa cephesini konu ediniyor. Yazar, dönemin Fransa cumhurbaşkanı tarafından gözlem yapması amacıyla cepheye gönderilmiş. Bu özel muamelenin karşılığını da Mahşerin Dört Atlısı'nı yazarak vermiş sanırım.
Benim için kitabın tek olumlu tarafı yazarın anlatım dili oldu. Kaba olmayan, alaycı, kinaye içeren cümleler kurmakta oldukça usta kendisi.
Kitabın sonuna doğru çarpıcı sahneler varmış sanırım, o kısımlara da bakarım belki. Sonuç olarak 1. Dünya Savaşı ile ilgili okuma yapmayı sevenlere önereceğim bir eser olacak.
Kitap genel olarak Birinci Dünya Savaşı'nda Fransa cephesini konu ediniyor. Yazar, dönemin Fransa cumhurbaşkanı tarafından gözlem yapması amacıyla cepheye gönderilmiş. Bu özel muamelenin karşılığını da Mahşerin Dört Atlısı'nı yazarak vermiş sanırım.
Benim için kitabın tek olumlu tarafı yazarın anlatım dili oldu. Kaba olmayan, alaycı, kinaye içeren cümleler kurmakta oldukça usta kendisi.
Kitabın sonuna doğru çarpıcı sahneler varmış sanırım, o kısımlara da bakarım belki. Sonuç olarak 1. Dünya Savaşı ile ilgili okuma yapmayı sevenlere önereceğim bir eser olacak.
January 22, 2021
22 JAN 2021 - the truth is that I really enjoyed reading this book once I completed Part 1. Now, I will say this is absolutely not the best book I have ever read - not even close. But, once I became familiar with the style of Ibanez and once the book moved on to WWI (of which I felt Ibanez was not a fan), the book became, for me, more enjoyable. So, if you are wondering, "Should I read this one?" Yes; do read it but give the book a chance - read through the rough patch of Part 1. It gets better. Not outstanding, but better.
Download for free at Project Gutenberg.
Download for free at Project Gutenberg.
February 23, 2025
Це дуже хороша книга. Добре написана. Злободенна. Читаючи її вкотре впевнилась, що війна незмінна, чи то в 1914, чи зараз. Ті ж відчуття, подібна поведінка та емоції, хіба що зброя стала ще більш руйнівною.
Але окремі пасажі й розділи надто вибивалися з загальної канви тексту, перетворюючись на філософські відступи-монологи. Вони були цікаві, але виглядали дещо штучно всередині художньої книги.
Але окремі пасажі й розділи надто вибивалися з загальної канви тексту, перетворюючись на філософські відступи-монологи. Вони були цікаві, але виглядали дещо штучно всередині художньої книги.
April 22, 2013
L'orrore prima dell'orrore
La grande forza de I quattro cavalieri dell'Apocalisse sta, a mio avviso, nel fatto di essere stato scritto in media res, in pochi mesi tra il 1915 e il 1916. La lettura del libro ci restituisce il clima, l'atmosfera delle settimane che precedettero lo scoppio del conflitto tra Germania e Francia, l'euforia nazionalista della mobilitazione generale, l'orrore dell'invasione tedesca, della battaglia della Marna, della guerra di trincea e dei milioni di morti che comportò. Non è un libro propriamente pacifista, è essenzialmente antigermanico, ma finisce per restituirci l'essenza e la stupidità della guerra in tutta la sua crudezza.
Il racconto è quello della famiglia Desnoyers, il cui capostipite si è arricchito in Argentina (a proposito: molto bella anche la figura del patriarca Madariaga, quasi marqueziana) e che torna a Parigi con moglie e figli poco prima dello scoppio delle ostilità. Naturalmente la guerra sconvolgerà la vita di tutti i componenti della famiglia, in primis quella di Julio, figlio primogenito dedito ai piaceri della vita. La presenza di un ramo tedesco della famiglia è lo spunto per la descrizione e la condanna del militarismo della Germania guglielmina, che per Blasco Ibañez è la causa unica del massacro. E' impressionante, leggendo le pagine in cui l'autore ci parla della Germania per bocca di alcuni personaggi tedeschi, trovare frasi e asserzioni che saranno largamente usate nel periodo nazista, riguardanti la superiorità della razza e della Kultur tedesca, la sua missione purificatrice e così via. Lo stile di Blasco Ibañez, pacato e quasi giornalistico, che raramente si lascia andare a lirismi o introspezioni, aiuta a dare oggettività al racconto.
Un libro che quindi vale senza dubbio la pena di leggere, che giustamente divenne un best seller nei paesi alleati e da cui è stato tratto un celebre film con Rodolfo Valentino.
La grande forza de I quattro cavalieri dell'Apocalisse sta, a mio avviso, nel fatto di essere stato scritto in media res, in pochi mesi tra il 1915 e il 1916. La lettura del libro ci restituisce il clima, l'atmosfera delle settimane che precedettero lo scoppio del conflitto tra Germania e Francia, l'euforia nazionalista della mobilitazione generale, l'orrore dell'invasione tedesca, della battaglia della Marna, della guerra di trincea e dei milioni di morti che comportò. Non è un libro propriamente pacifista, è essenzialmente antigermanico, ma finisce per restituirci l'essenza e la stupidità della guerra in tutta la sua crudezza.
Il racconto è quello della famiglia Desnoyers, il cui capostipite si è arricchito in Argentina (a proposito: molto bella anche la figura del patriarca Madariaga, quasi marqueziana) e che torna a Parigi con moglie e figli poco prima dello scoppio delle ostilità. Naturalmente la guerra sconvolgerà la vita di tutti i componenti della famiglia, in primis quella di Julio, figlio primogenito dedito ai piaceri della vita. La presenza di un ramo tedesco della famiglia è lo spunto per la descrizione e la condanna del militarismo della Germania guglielmina, che per Blasco Ibañez è la causa unica del massacro. E' impressionante, leggendo le pagine in cui l'autore ci parla della Germania per bocca di alcuni personaggi tedeschi, trovare frasi e asserzioni che saranno largamente usate nel periodo nazista, riguardanti la superiorità della razza e della Kultur tedesca, la sua missione purificatrice e così via. Lo stile di Blasco Ibañez, pacato e quasi giornalistico, che raramente si lascia andare a lirismi o introspezioni, aiuta a dare oggettività al racconto.
Un libro che quindi vale senza dubbio la pena di leggere, che giustamente divenne un best seller nei paesi alleati e da cui è stato tratto un celebre film con Rodolfo Valentino.
November 13, 2014
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse was the biggest selling novel in the world between the WWI and WWII. Unquestionably it was at least somewhat oversold. Today is largely forgotten and is most certainly being undersold.
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse addresses the big question on the minds of everyone between the wars: why would so many people gladly die in what was clearly a senseless war. The answer of Blasco Ibanez was the same as that of Marcel Proust in Le temps retrouve. Blasco Ibanez's protagonist Julio Desnoyer and Marcel Proust's Saint Loup both happily go to their deaths because they wish to be in solidarity with their comrades.
WWII made the issue of dying for in a pointless cause irrelevant. By the end of WWII, the allied veterans were all convinced that they had fought on the right side and had done the right thing. However, during history there have been more wars that have left its participants wondering why they had fought than there have been wars that have left a clear belief on at least one of the sides that their fight had been a good one. Sooner or later, The Four Horsemen will have another day in the sun.
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse addresses the big question on the minds of everyone between the wars: why would so many people gladly die in what was clearly a senseless war. The answer of Blasco Ibanez was the same as that of Marcel Proust in Le temps retrouve. Blasco Ibanez's protagonist Julio Desnoyer and Marcel Proust's Saint Loup both happily go to their deaths because they wish to be in solidarity with their comrades.
WWII made the issue of dying for in a pointless cause irrelevant. By the end of WWII, the allied veterans were all convinced that they had fought on the right side and had done the right thing. However, during history there have been more wars that have left its participants wondering why they had fought than there have been wars that have left a clear belief on at least one of the sides that their fight had been a good one. Sooner or later, The Four Horsemen will have another day in the sun.
March 9, 2020
Me ha gustado mucho, me ha transportado a la época y he podido vivir con detalle los momentos previos a la guerra y meterme en la piel de los personajes durante ella.
Me quedo sobre todo cuando viven el momento previo, con las conversaciones del primo alemán y el ruso. Sin duda de lo mejor del libro. Luego, a partir de aquí, se viene abajo un poco (pero porque hasta ese momento, la tensión creada era sublime), pero me quedo también con la historia que vive el padre defendiendo su castillo con el contacto del ejercito alemán apoderándose de todo.
Al final, la muerte del hijo, da ese golpe de realidad final para un padre que cree que no puede perderlo y que muestra la cantidad de muertos que dejo esta guerra cuando andan buscándolo, guerra que aún está por terminar en el libro y que fue la más sangrienta hasta la fecha.
Sin duda un buen libro, me ha hecho interesarme mucho más en esta guerra y de la que me gustaría ver algunas de las obras llevadas al cine sobre esta novela.
Me quedo sobre todo cuando viven el momento previo, con las conversaciones del primo alemán y el ruso. Sin duda de lo mejor del libro. Luego, a partir de aquí, se viene abajo un poco (pero porque hasta ese momento, la tensión creada era sublime), pero me quedo también con la historia que vive el padre defendiendo su castillo con el contacto del ejercito alemán apoderándose de todo.
Al final, la muerte del hijo, da ese golpe de realidad final para un padre que cree que no puede perderlo y que muestra la cantidad de muertos que dejo esta guerra cuando andan buscándolo, guerra que aún está por terminar en el libro y que fue la más sangrienta hasta la fecha.
Sin duda un buen libro, me ha hecho interesarme mucho más en esta guerra y de la que me gustaría ver algunas de las obras llevadas al cine sobre esta novela.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 13, 2019
What a fascinating novel. Whilst published in 1916 so the author did not know the future end of the war he does so much to explain both the Russian revolution and the eventual rise of nazism. What an achievement. And all that before you even consider the thumping good story!
May 29, 2024
Sentimientos encontrados. Tenia muchas ganas de leer este clásico, pero ahora que lo he acabado puedo decir que no me ha cambiado la vida.
La primera parte de este libro se me hizo muy pesada. Engloba la descripción de los personajes antes de la primera guerra mundial, usando un lenguaje bastante técnico y dificíl de seguir. Ahora bien, la segunda y tercera parte describe la guerra en si, así como las penúrias que se pasan después de esta.
En mi opinión es un libro bastante difícil de leer y que cuesta engancharte. Aún así tiene muchas partes donde el autor hace unas descripciones brutales que te permite imaginarte perfectamente el escenario de la guerra y consigue ponerte los pelos de punta.
Aunque este libro sea una ficción, lo recomiendo para esas personas que les gusten las novelas históricas y bélicas.
La primera parte de este libro se me hizo muy pesada. Engloba la descripción de los personajes antes de la primera guerra mundial, usando un lenguaje bastante técnico y dificíl de seguir. Ahora bien, la segunda y tercera parte describe la guerra en si, así como las penúrias que se pasan después de esta.
En mi opinión es un libro bastante difícil de leer y que cuesta engancharte. Aún así tiene muchas partes donde el autor hace unas descripciones brutales que te permite imaginarte perfectamente el escenario de la guerra y consigue ponerte los pelos de punta.
Aunque este libro sea una ficción, lo recomiendo para esas personas que les gusten las novelas históricas y bélicas.
January 16, 2020
Volver a leer a Vicente Blasco Ibáñez ha sido una delicia. Es una mirada atrás para reconocer cómo era nuestra sociedad hace cien años y los muchos o pocos cambios que ha sufrido.
La fuerza que tienen sus reflexiones personales, la descripción de los pensamientos más humanos, el compromiso con la sociedad, lo hace un autor eternamente actual.
Los cuatro jinetes del Apocalipsis es un drama en tres actos. De cómo la Primera Guerra Mundial desmonta una familia que, dentro de sus propias diferencias y dificultades, consiguen una vida acomodada. Y ven como una guerra, que ni siquiera es suya, les arrebata y hace inútiles sus logros y riquezas, destrozando para siempre el concepto de sus propias vidas.
Con un lenguaje asequible, mantiene un ritmo irregular en el que igual en un capítulo ocurren muchas cosas y en otro, leemos las largas, e incluso pesadas, reflexiones de personajes "intelectuales" como Tchernoff, que desgranan la situación de la Francia de 1914, ya iniciada la guerra.
El autor destripa la guerra tanto en la retaguardia como en el frente. Somos testigos de las "fake news" de aquel entonces, de las proclamas y llamamientos a la defensa de la patria, de lo propio, de la defensa ante el atropello, de la barbarie del prójimo y el heroísmo del ejército del país, de las derrotas, de las victorias, de la destrucción, del expolio, de la muerte... Y aquí es donde se ven reflejadas las cuatro figuras alegóricas del título: la Guerra, el Hambre, la Enfermedad y la Muerte. Su propia mención dentro del libro anuncia su llegada y con ello, una a una van apareciendo para quedarse con la familia Desnoyers. Cómo sería la situación de aquel entonces que Blasco Ibáñez ya vaticinaba (el libro se publicó en 1916, dos años antes de acabar la Primera Guerra Mundial) que acabara como acabara esa guerra, la Bestia volvería tiempo más tarde con aire de revancha.
Interesante la recreación de algunos acontecimientos de la primera batalla de Marne, en la que el autor pone en una situación muy difícil a uno de sus protagonistas, siendo testigo de los atropellos y calamidades que ocurrieron.
Es una novela muy interesante, como todo lo que escribió Blasco Ibáñez. Aún recuerdo las impresiones que me causaron otras novelas suyas como Entre naranjos, La maja desnuda o La Voluntad De Vivir, muy diferentes a esta, pero a la vez más cercanas e igual de vivas. Blasco Ibáñez siempre hay que leerlo.
Indagando un poco en varias fuentes, veo que Blasco Ibáñez tomó la escritura de esta novela casi como un encargo del presidente francés Raymond Poincaré en favor de los aliados y los valores de la república francesa. Cosa que, además de darle gratos éxitos internacionalmente con la obra, también le sirvió para tener grandes lazos con Francia. Esto ayudó a que cuando, exiliado en Francia por la dictadura de Primo de Rivera, el dictador cometió el error de entablar un proceso legal por injurias a Alfonso XIII ante los tribunales franceses, esto amplificó el escándalo y provocó la solidaridad del gobierno y de la Asamblea Nacional que recordó el apoyo que había dado Blasco a Francia durante la Primera Guerra Mundial. El gobierno español acabó retirando la querella.
También parece que Blasco Ibáñez utilizó sus vivencias en Argentina y la situación de la que él mismo fue testigo en París y alrededores para escribir la novela. De hecho, parece que el castillo de Villeblanche-sur-Marne es una versión ficticia del castillo de Esternay, donde ocurrieron muchos de los hechos que se narran en la novela.
La fuerza que tienen sus reflexiones personales, la descripción de los pensamientos más humanos, el compromiso con la sociedad, lo hace un autor eternamente actual.
Los cuatro jinetes del Apocalipsis es un drama en tres actos. De cómo la Primera Guerra Mundial desmonta una familia que, dentro de sus propias diferencias y dificultades, consiguen una vida acomodada. Y ven como una guerra, que ni siquiera es suya, les arrebata y hace inútiles sus logros y riquezas, destrozando para siempre el concepto de sus propias vidas.
Con un lenguaje asequible, mantiene un ritmo irregular en el que igual en un capítulo ocurren muchas cosas y en otro, leemos las largas, e incluso pesadas, reflexiones de personajes "intelectuales" como Tchernoff, que desgranan la situación de la Francia de 1914, ya iniciada la guerra.
El autor destripa la guerra tanto en la retaguardia como en el frente. Somos testigos de las "fake news" de aquel entonces, de las proclamas y llamamientos a la defensa de la patria, de lo propio, de la defensa ante el atropello, de la barbarie del prójimo y el heroísmo del ejército del país, de las derrotas, de las victorias, de la destrucción, del expolio, de la muerte... Y aquí es donde se ven reflejadas las cuatro figuras alegóricas del título: la Guerra, el Hambre, la Enfermedad y la Muerte. Su propia mención dentro del libro anuncia su llegada y con ello, una a una van apareciendo para quedarse con la familia Desnoyers. Cómo sería la situación de aquel entonces que Blasco Ibáñez ya vaticinaba (el libro se publicó en 1916, dos años antes de acabar la Primera Guerra Mundial) que acabara como acabara esa guerra, la Bestia volvería tiempo más tarde con aire de revancha.
Interesante la recreación de algunos acontecimientos de la primera batalla de Marne, en la que el autor pone en una situación muy difícil a uno de sus protagonistas, siendo testigo de los atropellos y calamidades que ocurrieron.
Es una novela muy interesante, como todo lo que escribió Blasco Ibáñez. Aún recuerdo las impresiones que me causaron otras novelas suyas como Entre naranjos, La maja desnuda o La Voluntad De Vivir, muy diferentes a esta, pero a la vez más cercanas e igual de vivas. Blasco Ibáñez siempre hay que leerlo.
Indagando un poco en varias fuentes, veo que Blasco Ibáñez tomó la escritura de esta novela casi como un encargo del presidente francés Raymond Poincaré en favor de los aliados y los valores de la república francesa. Cosa que, además de darle gratos éxitos internacionalmente con la obra, también le sirvió para tener grandes lazos con Francia. Esto ayudó a que cuando, exiliado en Francia por la dictadura de Primo de Rivera, el dictador cometió el error de entablar un proceso legal por injurias a Alfonso XIII ante los tribunales franceses, esto amplificó el escándalo y provocó la solidaridad del gobierno y de la Asamblea Nacional que recordó el apoyo que había dado Blasco a Francia durante la Primera Guerra Mundial. El gobierno español acabó retirando la querella.
También parece que Blasco Ibáñez utilizó sus vivencias en Argentina y la situación de la que él mismo fue testigo en París y alrededores para escribir la novela. De hecho, parece que el castillo de Villeblanche-sur-Marne es una versión ficticia del castillo de Esternay, donde ocurrieron muchos de los hechos que se narran en la novela.
June 8, 2019
Yazar, yaşadığı dönemde gerçekleşen tarihi bir olayı kendi düşüncelerini katarak, görmek istediği gibi görerek anlatabilir. Ama yüzyıl sonra bu kitabı okuyan kişi tarih değil, sempatizanlık manifestosu okur. Bu kitap bunun en belirgin örneklerinden. Birinci dünya savaşını anlatan bir kitapta, "İngiliz" kelimesi birkaç kere geçti, "Amerika" kelimesi "Latin" kelimesinden bağımsız geçmedi, Ruslar sonu meçhul bir devrimcinin anlatıldığı 3-5 sayfadan fazlası değildi. Koca dünya savaşı Fransız-Alman kabile savaşına döndü. Milyonluk şato nasıl mahvedilmiş (!?)"Héros" Fransa, barbar Almanyayı nasıl da hak ettiği gibi tekmelemiş (!?) Hazır konusu gelmişken, Fransızların Antep'te Maraş'ta hangi "eşitlik-kardeşlik-özgürlük" devrimleri yapmış, Cezayir'de tecavüz ettiği kadınlara hangi medeniyeti öğretmiş, bunları da anlatsaymış keşke, derinlik katardı biraz daha. İthal bir milliyetçinin hezeyanları....
November 4, 2018
I'm giving this one a 4 because it was well written, even if it was a very slow book and therefore hard to enjoy (I'm used to reading 3 or 4 books a week, so taking two weeks to read one is rough for me). A bit more verbose than I tend to enjoy, but a good WWI story. The author died before the start of WWII, but from his writing you can tell that he wasn't as optimistic about that being the war to truly end all wars; an insightful comment for the time. One passage that stuck with me was one character's realization towards the middle of the book that people tend to sometimes falsely believe that war in the past was more barbaric than it is today. We somehow overlook our own barbarity, not realizing that we haven't evolved very far when it comes to our thirst for war and destruction.
November 19, 2018
Pues realmente me ha sorprendido. La descripción de los combates, los avances de las tropas, los campos de cadáveres, la sociedad francesa, la alemana (muy subjetivas las dos),...
Un libro lento para lo que yo suelo leer, pero que ha valido la pena.
-Sangre -dijo alegremente-. Todo el cielo aparece de sangre... Es la bestia apocalíptica que ha recibido el golpe de gracia. Pronto la veremos morir.
Tchernoff sonrió igualmente; pero su sonrisa fue melancólica.
-No; la Bestia no muere. Es la eterna compañera de los hombres. Se oculta chorreando sangre cuarenta años... , sesenta..., un siglo; pero reaparece. Todo lo que podemos desear es que su herida sea larga, que se esconda por mucho tiempo y no la vean nunca las generaciones que guardarán todavía nuestro recuerdo.
Un libro lento para lo que yo suelo leer, pero que ha valido la pena.
-Sangre -dijo alegremente-. Todo el cielo aparece de sangre... Es la bestia apocalíptica que ha recibido el golpe de gracia. Pronto la veremos morir.
Tchernoff sonrió igualmente; pero su sonrisa fue melancólica.
-No; la Bestia no muere. Es la eterna compañera de los hombres. Se oculta chorreando sangre cuarenta años... , sesenta..., un siglo; pero reaparece. Todo lo que podemos desear es que su herida sea larga, que se esconda por mucho tiempo y no la vean nunca las generaciones que guardarán todavía nuestro recuerdo.
April 5, 2019
I read this book as part of my quest to read the bestselling book of every year for the past 100 years. This was the bestselling book of 1919, just after World War I ended. The theme of course was war and family. I had never heard of this book before (and admittedly I don't know too much about World War I apart from having read "All Quiet on the Western Front") but this is a book that should be read in school. The parts describing the horrors of war were very well written. Other parts were funny, and Julio and Chichi reminded me of David and Alexis from "Schitt's Creek" (rich, clueless, directionless, but well-intentioned).
September 17, 2021
savaşın tüm çirkinliklerini gözler önüne seren, militarizmin zararlarının hangi boyutlara çıkabileceğini bizlere gösteren okunası bir roman.
savaşın yıkıcılığı keşke daha objektif ele alınsaydı. bir taraf yerin dibine sokulurken, sanki diğer taraf çok masummuş gibi işlenmiş. bu yanlı tavır ne yazık ki güzelim betimlemeler içeren bu romanın okuma zevkini düşürüyor.
savaşın yıkıcılığı keşke daha objektif ele alınsaydı. bir taraf yerin dibine sokulurken, sanki diğer taraf çok masummuş gibi işlenmiş. bu yanlı tavır ne yazık ki güzelim betimlemeler içeren bu romanın okuma zevkini düşürüyor.
May 22, 2014
An interesting book about WWI and the effect it had on soldiers and citizens alike. It reminded me of Suite Francaise.
I have only just realised it was written in 1916 and that makes it a lot more impressive.
I have only just realised it was written in 1916 and that makes it a lot more impressive.
November 27, 2024
Una novela antibelicista pero sobre todo propagandística, enmarcada en los inicios de la I Guerra Mundial en Francia. El tono pro-francés y anti alemán es claro, y llega incluso a ser casi paródico cuando retrata al enemigo alemán.
Cuenta la historia de dos familias, una francesa y otra alemana, unidas por un abuelo común español, que se crían juntas en Argentina y se separan pocos años antes del inicio de la Gran Guerra. Dos familias que acaban irremediablemente enfrentadas al encontrarse en bandos contrarios, en patrias enfrentadas. La historia se centra especialmente en la rama francesa, en Marcelo Desnoyers y su hijo Julio. El padre es un hombre serio, trabajador, un burgués enriquecido centrado en los negocios, mientras que su hijo pasa sus días dedicado a las fiestas, las mujeres y el tango.
Los personajes principales están bien desarrollados, son interesantes, actúan y evolucionan de una manera creíble, y están rodeados de una serie de personajes secundarios que no sobran. La historia tiene buen ritmo y está bien llevada hasta el clímax final. Hay reflexiones interesantes sobre diversos temas, como el militarismo y la guerra, sobre el concepto de progreso material asociado a la industrialización; refleja muy bien la filosofía del “hombre nuevo”, que fue el sustento ideológico de las dos guerras mundiales y los totalitarismos del siglo XX:
“Lo que más irritaba a Tchernoff era la enseñanza inmoral nacida de esta situación y que había acabado por apoderarse del mundo: la glorificación de la fuerza, la santificación del éxito, el triunfo del materialismo, el respeto al hecho consumado, la mofa de los más nobles sentimientos, como si fuesen simples frases sonoras y ridículas, el trastorno de los valores morales, una filosofía de bandidos que pretendía ser la última palabra del progreso y no era más que la vuelta al despotismo, la violencia, la barbarie de las épocas más primitivas de la Historia.”
Aunque se escribió en 1916, es interesante observar la lucidez de rechazar la idea generalizada de que la Gran Guerra iba a ser la guerra que terminaría con todas las guerras, que el ser humano progresa en una línea recta hacia “el final de la Historia”:
“No, la bestia no muere. Es la eterna compañera de los hombres. Se oculta, chorreando sangre, cuarenta años… sesenta…un siglo, pero reaparece. Todo lo que podemos desear es que su herida sea larga, que se esconda por mucho tiempo y no la vean nunca las generaciones que guardarán todavía nuestro recuerdo.”
A ratos, la novela llega a ser emocionante. La narración de las batallas, de la guerra de trincheras, de la llegada de esta “guerra moderna” me ha parecido francamente buena.
Y a pesar de todo lo anterior, el libro tiene dos fallos graves:
- el más grave para mí es el estilo, cursi, afectado, de folletín romántico del XIX. Las conversaciones no tienen un tono natural, suenan forzadas.
- el otro fallo es la absoluta demonización del bando alemán. No hay grises. Aunque a veces, de forma genérica se habla del sufrimiento alemán, de los pobres soldados alemanes que no quieren la guerra, de las madres que sufren un dolor igual sin importar el bando, la realidad es que cada uno de los personajes alemanes que aparecen es un fanático, siervo con sus superiores y déspota con los que puede, arrogante e incapaz de compasión. Y por el contrario, todo personaje francés, aunque pueda ser en un inicio cobarde, egoísta o disoluto, llegada la hora de la verdad, se comporta de forma valiente y compasiva. Los soldados alemanes son unos salvajes, convencidos de la superioridad racial alemana (curioso que se refleje esta convicción en una novela escrita en 1916), capaces de todas las barbaridades contra la población civil. Los franceses, en cambio, tienen todos el honor y el autocontrol.
Ambos fallos pesan demasiado, porque ambos llegan a rozar la parodia: en ocasiones, el lenguaje recuerda a un orador pedante declamando ante un auditorio. Y por otro, el alemán es un ser paródico, que de tanta maldad se convierte en caricatura.
Cuando se compara esta novela con la obra de Remarque “Sin novedad en el frente”, con personajes reales, que odian la guerra, soldados heroicos y miserables al mismo tiempo, y que se expresan de forma natural, esta novela de Blasco Ibáñez pierde mucho.
Cuenta la historia de dos familias, una francesa y otra alemana, unidas por un abuelo común español, que se crían juntas en Argentina y se separan pocos años antes del inicio de la Gran Guerra. Dos familias que acaban irremediablemente enfrentadas al encontrarse en bandos contrarios, en patrias enfrentadas. La historia se centra especialmente en la rama francesa, en Marcelo Desnoyers y su hijo Julio. El padre es un hombre serio, trabajador, un burgués enriquecido centrado en los negocios, mientras que su hijo pasa sus días dedicado a las fiestas, las mujeres y el tango.
Los personajes principales están bien desarrollados, son interesantes, actúan y evolucionan de una manera creíble, y están rodeados de una serie de personajes secundarios que no sobran. La historia tiene buen ritmo y está bien llevada hasta el clímax final. Hay reflexiones interesantes sobre diversos temas, como el militarismo y la guerra, sobre el concepto de progreso material asociado a la industrialización; refleja muy bien la filosofía del “hombre nuevo”, que fue el sustento ideológico de las dos guerras mundiales y los totalitarismos del siglo XX:
“Lo que más irritaba a Tchernoff era la enseñanza inmoral nacida de esta situación y que había acabado por apoderarse del mundo: la glorificación de la fuerza, la santificación del éxito, el triunfo del materialismo, el respeto al hecho consumado, la mofa de los más nobles sentimientos, como si fuesen simples frases sonoras y ridículas, el trastorno de los valores morales, una filosofía de bandidos que pretendía ser la última palabra del progreso y no era más que la vuelta al despotismo, la violencia, la barbarie de las épocas más primitivas de la Historia.”
Aunque se escribió en 1916, es interesante observar la lucidez de rechazar la idea generalizada de que la Gran Guerra iba a ser la guerra que terminaría con todas las guerras, que el ser humano progresa en una línea recta hacia “el final de la Historia”:
“No, la bestia no muere. Es la eterna compañera de los hombres. Se oculta, chorreando sangre, cuarenta años… sesenta…un siglo, pero reaparece. Todo lo que podemos desear es que su herida sea larga, que se esconda por mucho tiempo y no la vean nunca las generaciones que guardarán todavía nuestro recuerdo.”
A ratos, la novela llega a ser emocionante. La narración de las batallas, de la guerra de trincheras, de la llegada de esta “guerra moderna” me ha parecido francamente buena.
Y a pesar de todo lo anterior, el libro tiene dos fallos graves:
- el más grave para mí es el estilo, cursi, afectado, de folletín romántico del XIX. Las conversaciones no tienen un tono natural, suenan forzadas.
- el otro fallo es la absoluta demonización del bando alemán. No hay grises. Aunque a veces, de forma genérica se habla del sufrimiento alemán, de los pobres soldados alemanes que no quieren la guerra, de las madres que sufren un dolor igual sin importar el bando, la realidad es que cada uno de los personajes alemanes que aparecen es un fanático, siervo con sus superiores y déspota con los que puede, arrogante e incapaz de compasión. Y por el contrario, todo personaje francés, aunque pueda ser en un inicio cobarde, egoísta o disoluto, llegada la hora de la verdad, se comporta de forma valiente y compasiva. Los soldados alemanes son unos salvajes, convencidos de la superioridad racial alemana (curioso que se refleje esta convicción en una novela escrita en 1916), capaces de todas las barbaridades contra la población civil. Los franceses, en cambio, tienen todos el honor y el autocontrol.
Ambos fallos pesan demasiado, porque ambos llegan a rozar la parodia: en ocasiones, el lenguaje recuerda a un orador pedante declamando ante un auditorio. Y por otro, el alemán es un ser paródico, que de tanta maldad se convierte en caricatura.
Cuando se compara esta novela con la obra de Remarque “Sin novedad en el frente”, con personajes reales, que odian la guerra, soldados heroicos y miserables al mismo tiempo, y que se expresan de forma natural, esta novela de Blasco Ibáñez pierde mucho.
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