In Périgord, the small village of Salvetat experiences the year 1940 while waiting for the return of its sons, some of whom are prisoners in Germany. Fernand finds himself on a German farm and is going to escape. In the village, he is awaited by his parents and especially Irène, his fiancée.
Henry Noullet describes his country to us, this Périgord and this village where everyone knows each other. The gendarmerie sergeant knows how to turn a blind eye, not to listen, while the post office director and the mailman know more than they are willing to say. The resistance is organizing.
There are the Vichy supporters, including Irène’s brother, Antoine, who suspects something. The black market? The parcels to the prisoners. This little world meets at the bistro where everyone has their habits. There is also the priest, the public school, a whole social fabric that needs to be managed and organized.
The escapee from Salvetat is a beautiful chronicle of a small Périgord village with its farms during the Second World War, with its heroes and its scoundrels. The war prisoners, some of whom did not seek to escape, preferring compromises with their jailers.
This is the genius of the author, describing the heroes and his characters with psychology. A regional novel and at the same time a historical testimony about this painful period in our history.
Thierry Jan, writer
