Louis Guilloux
Louis Guilloux was a French writer born on January 15, 1899, in Saint-Brieuc, Brittany. Coming from a modest background, he was deeply influenced by his father's socialist activism, which shaped his literary themes centered on social issues, empathy, and the human experience. Although he did not complete his high school education, he engaged in various jobs, including working for relief agencies and serving as a secretary for international writers opposed to fascism. His notable works include "La Maison du peuple" (1927), which depicts the struggles of a socialist community, and "Le Sang noir" (1935), which explores the personal impacts of war through its protagonist Cripure.
Throughout World War II, Guilloux was actively involved in the French Resistance and worked with the U.S. military as a translator. His writing often reflects the complexities of human emotions in the face of war and societal challenges. He received numerous accolades for his contributions to literature, including the Grand Prix National des Lettres in 1967. Guilloux passed away on October 14, 1980, but his legacy endures through his compassionate portrayals of lower-class struggles and the moral dilemmas faced during tumultuous times.
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Subject Terms
Louis Guilloux
Fiction Writer
- Born: January 15, 1899
- Birthplace: Breton, Saint-Brieuc, France
- Died: October 14, 1980
Biography
Louis Guilloux was born on January 15, 1899, in Breton, Saint-Brieuc, France, to Louis and Philomene (Marimer) Guilloux. The son of a shoemaker, Guilloux grew up impoverished but happy. His father was heavily involved in socialist politics and instilled those values in his son. Guilloux attended the local high school on a scholarship but dropped out before graduation and worked a series of odd jobs. In 1924, he married Catherine Tricoire and the couple had one daughter, Yvonne.
In his youth, Guilloux worked as a school monitor and translated newspaper articles from English into French for Intransigeant. In 1933, he worked for the relief agency, Secours Populair Francais, helping refugees and the unemployed. From 1934 until 1935, he served as secretary of the Congress Mondial des Ecrivains Antifascistes, a group of international writers opposed to fascism. In 1936, he traveled with writers Andre Gide and Eugene Dabit to the Soviet Union and contributed his observations about the country to France’s Communist newspaper, Ce Soir. During World War II, Guilloux worked for the French Resistance and as a translator for the United States military. In 1961, he traveled to West Germany, Greece, Austria, and Italy, surveying the residual camps as a representative for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.
Reoccurring themes of human interest and empathy, politics and humanitarianism, guilt and the horrors of war, combined with multiple plot lines and strong, yet desperate characters frequent Guilloux’s novels. His first novel, La Maison du peuple (1927), documents the struggles of a lower-class community as it rallies around a socialist leader to construct a house for all people, only to have these efforts thwarted with the outbreak of World War I. In Le Sang noir (1935; Bitter Victory, 1936), his only novel translated into English, Guilloux introduces the reader to Cripure, whose opinions on politics and the approaching war are in conflict with fellow bourgeoisie. Cripure insists that one can only understand war when one is personally affected by the death it brings. The protagonist’s turmoil leads to suicide. Le Pain des reves (1942) centers on an impoverished family dependent upon an ornery grandfather, whom the children dream is a cruel king. Le Jeu de patience (1949) is a collection of Guilloux’s experiences before and during Word War II. The novel depicts the atrocities of war, along with the bravery of relief workers. Le Jeu de patience not only melds aspects of Guilloux’s wartime experiences, but also reintroduces several of his characters from previous novels.
Guilloux adapted his novels Compagnons and Le Pain des reves into television films and turned Le Sang noir into a stage production. He died on October 14, 1980. He received the Bourse Blumenthal in 1927 for La Maison du peuple; the Prix Populiste, 1942, for Le Pain des reves; the Prix Theophraste Renaudot, 1949, for Le Jeu de patience; the Grand Prix Nationaldes Lettres, 1967; and the Grand Prix de Literature de l’Academie Francaise, 1973, for his contributions to French literature. Guilloux’s greatest achievement was his empathy for the lower-class people who populated his novels and allowed him a vehicle to express his social concerns.