What do you think?
Rate this book
Invasion '14
Novel about the effects of the War on the French families behind the German lines.
- GenresWorld War I
707 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1935
2 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
About the author
Maxence Van der Meersch
81 books20 followersA lawyer by training, he in fact practiced this profession very little, preferring to devote himself to writing. His work, replete with a spirit of realism, is essentially concerned with the life of the people of the Nord, his native region.
In 1936 he was awarded the Prix Goncourt for "L'Empreinte du dieu" (Hath Not the Potter). In 1943 he published "Corps et âmes" (Bodies and Souls), which was awarded the grand prix de l'Académie française for that year. The novel was an international success — it was translated into 13 languages.
Van der Meersch experienced great success in his lifetime, but is little known today.
In 1936 he was awarded the Prix Goncourt for "L'Empreinte du dieu" (Hath Not the Potter). In 1943 he published "Corps et âmes" (Bodies and Souls), which was awarded the grand prix de l'Académie française for that year. The novel was an international success — it was translated into 13 languages.
Van der Meersch experienced great success in his lifetime, but is little known today.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 21, 2025
When I first picked up this book I assumed from the author’s surname that he was Flemish and that the book would be set in Belgium during WW1. It turns out he was a Frenchman from Roubaix, albeit a location not a million miles from the Belgian border. He was born in 1907 so lived through the WW1 occupation as a boy. The book is set in Roubaix and in surrounding villages. Although set during wartime there are no battle scenes, instead the novel features the lives of civilians during a period of enemy occupation. There’s a large cast of characters, and the style of the book is to feature one family group for a chapter, then another family, then another, before returning to the next stage in the life of the first group, and so on. On the whole I was able to recall who was who, though there is a list of characters at the start, which I occasionally had recourse to.
The book has a very realistic feel, and doubtless the author drew on his own experiences, possibly also those of the adults around him. One of the strongest aspects is how he portrays the moral quandaries faced by civilians during an occupation. In the extract below, Hennedyck, a textile factory owner, is ordered by the German authorities to restart production at his factory, which he had closed.
“Hennedyck was greatly perplexed. He hesitated. To work for the enemy was a type of treason. But to refuse was to break with those who had continued to operate under enemy orders. It was also to expose the working population to enemy reprisals. In the event of refusal, the Germans were threatening to cut off all provisions from the city. A dreadful famine would ensue. To refuse would finally – and this mattered too, after all – mean exile for Hennedyck, far from his wife Émilie, the destruction of the factory, perhaps ruin.”
The characterisation is generally good. Most people are neither wholly good nor wholly bad, which is how things are in real life. The main exceptions are the farmers/peasants, who in the novel are portrayed as selfish, greedy, vindictive and above all spiteful. Envy becomes a poison amongst the population as supplies of food and fuel start to run out. “In this as in much else, the civilians did each other more harm than did the Germans.”
It seems that the author’s parents were secular humanists, but he became interested in religion and formally converted to Roman Catholicism in 1936. This novel was written in 1935 and it’s clear that the author’s conversion was no overnight matter and that his thoughts were already running strongly in that direction. The novel features Christian themes of suffering, redemption and self-sacrifice, and characters who are facing death tend to ponder “the meaning of life.” How the reader responds to the novel will therefore depend, to an extent, on how they relate to these themes. Personally, I found this element to be overdone.
It's a hard book to rate. Not as good as most others I have rated as four stars, but better than those I have rated at three. It’s a policy of mine to err on the generous side.
The book has a very realistic feel, and doubtless the author drew on his own experiences, possibly also those of the adults around him. One of the strongest aspects is how he portrays the moral quandaries faced by civilians during an occupation. In the extract below, Hennedyck, a textile factory owner, is ordered by the German authorities to restart production at his factory, which he had closed.
“Hennedyck was greatly perplexed. He hesitated. To work for the enemy was a type of treason. But to refuse was to break with those who had continued to operate under enemy orders. It was also to expose the working population to enemy reprisals. In the event of refusal, the Germans were threatening to cut off all provisions from the city. A dreadful famine would ensue. To refuse would finally – and this mattered too, after all – mean exile for Hennedyck, far from his wife Émilie, the destruction of the factory, perhaps ruin.”
The characterisation is generally good. Most people are neither wholly good nor wholly bad, which is how things are in real life. The main exceptions are the farmers/peasants, who in the novel are portrayed as selfish, greedy, vindictive and above all spiteful. Envy becomes a poison amongst the population as supplies of food and fuel start to run out. “In this as in much else, the civilians did each other more harm than did the Germans.”
It seems that the author’s parents were secular humanists, but he became interested in religion and formally converted to Roman Catholicism in 1936. This novel was written in 1935 and it’s clear that the author’s conversion was no overnight matter and that his thoughts were already running strongly in that direction. The novel features Christian themes of suffering, redemption and self-sacrifice, and characters who are facing death tend to ponder “the meaning of life.” How the reader responds to the novel will therefore depend, to an extent, on how they relate to these themes. Personally, I found this element to be overdone.
It's a hard book to rate. Not as good as most others I have rated as four stars, but better than those I have rated at three. It’s a policy of mine to err on the generous side.
October 31, 2024
un roman oublié d'un auteur oublié. Maxence Van der Meersch a raté d'une
voix le prix Goncourt en 1935 pour Invasion 14, mais s'est rattrapé l'année suivante avec L'Empreinte du dieu. Invasion 14 décrit le
quotidien des habitants de Roubaix et des environs durant l'occupation allemande pendant la 1ere guerre mondiale. Le roman suit le parcours entrecroisé de plusieurs familles de tous milieux. Le roman est en
partie autobiographique puisque le jeune Maxence, né en 1907 à Roubaix,
a connu ces conditions dramatiques.
Le roman est traversé d'une vision sévère sur le système social qui broie les individus (et les soldats allemands aussi), et est par moments empreint d'un certain mysticisme.
Se lit aisément, avec émotion par rapport à cette période de l'histoire peu connue.
voix le prix Goncourt en 1935 pour Invasion 14, mais s'est rattrapé l'année suivante avec L'Empreinte du dieu. Invasion 14 décrit le
quotidien des habitants de Roubaix et des environs durant l'occupation allemande pendant la 1ere guerre mondiale. Le roman suit le parcours entrecroisé de plusieurs familles de tous milieux. Le roman est en
partie autobiographique puisque le jeune Maxence, né en 1907 à Roubaix,
a connu ces conditions dramatiques.
Le roman est traversé d'une vision sévère sur le système social qui broie les individus (et les soldats allemands aussi), et est par moments empreint d'un certain mysticisme.
Se lit aisément, avec émotion par rapport à cette période de l'histoire peu connue.
April 30, 2019
Un exceptionnel témoignage.
December 17, 2014
Van der Meersch is from the very northern part of France, Lille and its environs, by the Belgian border. This novel, published in 1937, chronicles the occupation of that area by Germany during the First World War.
The novel has a huge cast of characters and is rich in historical detail. Much of what it has to show is unrelentingly dark, but it keeps a human touch throughout.
The main odd thing about the novel, which seems particularly noticeable to a modern reader, is the Van der Meersch's narrative style. Given his huge number of characters, he is constantly introducing new ones, and when he does this he invariably provides a long and detailed explanation of that character's history and attitudes before moving on with the story. This has the advantage of making his world seemed packed with real and complex people, but the problem that it clogs up the story (the novel doesn't really have a plot, it's simply the history of all these interconnecting characters) and make you feel that there's simply too much to know.
The novel has a huge cast of characters and is rich in historical detail. Much of what it has to show is unrelentingly dark, but it keeps a human touch throughout.
The main odd thing about the novel, which seems particularly noticeable to a modern reader, is the Van der Meersch's narrative style. Given his huge number of characters, he is constantly introducing new ones, and when he does this he invariably provides a long and detailed explanation of that character's history and attitudes before moving on with the story. This has the advantage of making his world seemed packed with real and complex people, but the problem that it clogs up the story (the novel doesn't really have a plot, it's simply the history of all these interconnecting characters) and make you feel that there's simply too much to know.
December 8, 2011
This book takes place during the first world war between Lille Roubaix and french Flanders on the border. This region has been occupied by germans immediatly at the beginning of the war. In a very brutal way. Through several families we follow the life of people occupied. No food, no heating, people needing to be ingenious to find a way to survive.Through different characters the author shows heroic resistants but also lot of people taking avantage of the situation to make money or just to find a way not to miss and starve.
Rise and fall of humanity.
Maxence Van der Meersche wrote this book in 1935, so this book gives evidence about life of civilian populations during this terrible conflict. We can read plenty of books about the fights, situation of the war, life in the trench .... But it's not often that we can read about life in cities and villages occupied. A great evidence about life of people during historical moments told by people having lived it.
Rise and fall of humanity.
Maxence Van der Meersche wrote this book in 1935, so this book gives evidence about life of civilian populations during this terrible conflict. We can read plenty of books about the fights, situation of the war, life in the trench .... But it's not often that we can read about life in cities and villages occupied. A great evidence about life of people during historical moments told by people having lived it.
August 1, 2012
No es lo que ustedes piensan. Se trata de la invasión del ejercito alemán a un pueblo francés en 1914. Debo reconocer que cuando lo compré pensaba que era ese de las cucarachas alien y John Rico; después recordé que ese era Starship Rroopers
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews