The Revolt of the Angels

by Anatole France, Wilfrid Jackson (Translator)

As in Paradise Lost, the angels are in revolt against God. On this occasion, their ringleader is inspired to rebellion after reading some books on philosophy and science.

Anatole France's 1914 satire of war, government, and religion offers an ever-resonant protest against violence and tyranny.

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Fantasy, France, French Literature, Religion, Philosophy

282 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1914

About the author

French critic Anatole France, pen name of Jacques Anatole François Thibault wrote sophisticated, often satirical short stories and novels, including Penguin Island (1908), and won the Nobel Prize of 1921 for literature.

Anatole France began his career as a poet and a journalist. From 1867, he as a journalist composed articles and notices.

In 1869, Le Parnasse Contemporain published La Part de Madeleine of his poems. In 1875, he sat on the committee in charge of the third such compilation. He moved Paul Verlaine and Stéphane Mallarmé aside.

Skeptical old scholar Sylvester Bonnard, protagonist of famous Le Crime de Sylvestre Bonnard (1881), embodied own personality of the author. The academy praised its elegant prose.

Anatole France in La Rotisserie de la Reine Pedauque (1893) ridiculed belief in the occult and in Les Opinions de Jerome Coignard (1893) captured the atmosphere of the fin de siècle.

People elected him to the Académie française in 1896.
People falsely convicted Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish army officer, of espionage. Anatole France took an important part in the affair, signed manifesto of Émile Zola to support Dreyfus, and authored Monsieur Bergeret in 1901.

After the nearsighted Abbot Mael baptized the animals in error, France in later work depicts the transformation into human nature in 1908.

People considered most profound La Revolte des Anges (1914). It tells of Arcade, the guardian angel of Maurice d'Esparvieu. Arcade falls in love, joins the revolutionary movement of angels, and towards the end recognizes the meaningless overthrow of God unless "in ourselves and in ourselves alone we attack and destroy Ialdabaoth."

People awarded him "in recognition of his brilliant literary achievements, characterized as they are by a nobility of style, a profound human sympathy, grace, and a true Gallic temperament" in 1921.

In 1922, the Catholic Church put entire works of France on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum (Index of Prohibited Books).

He died, and people buried his body in the Neuilly-sur-Seine community cemetery near Paris.

Reviews

[BlackOxford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Raining Angels in Paris and Washington

Can there be such a genre, biblical material excepted, as the anticipatory allegory? If so, Revolt of the Angels could well be a prime example.

In this week's NYRB (Nov. 6 2017), Charles Simic has a piece commemorating Trump's election. In it he puts Trump in a literary context:

"The only character I can think of in the world literature who resembles Donald Trump is Père Ubu in the play Ubu Roi (“Ubu the King”) by Alfred Jarry that famously opened and closed in Paris on December 10, 1896, after starting a riot. A parody of Shakespeare’s Macbeth... Ubu is a buffoonish pretender to the throne of Poland, a brutal and greedy megalomaniac who, after killing off the royal family, starts murdering his own population in order to rob them of their money."

I think Simic is exactly right to place Trump historically in the French Third Republic, and not just because of his Ubu-esque personality. In fin de siecle France Politics are polarised. Religious belief is a defining issue. Racism is on the rise. Freedom, defined to suit, is the rallying cry of both Right and Left. Terrorism is on everyone’s mind. Fake news is the only kind there is. The foundations of the democratic state seem less than they have been in decades. The Revolution has been betrayed and the Nation belittled.

Revolt of the Angels is a parody of this tumultuous period. But, frightenly I find, it is also a very precise allegory of today's USA - written a century before events. The characters and plot seem out of the Trumpian playbook

The Angels in question, mostly guardian and therefore the alter-egos of the individuals they protect, have decided to mount a Miltonian rerun of the abortive insurrection by Lucifer. The Manichaean demiurge against whom they fight is Ialdabaoth (Obama). Heaven is the realm of the Democrats, who have had their unjustifiable way for far too long; earth is the territory of the Republican angelic guardians of freedom and independence from external rule.

The ringleaders are Arcade and Istar (respectively Steve Bannon and Vladimir Putin) who plan to destroy the existing order - one merely the republican earthly order, but the other the heavenly democratic order as well, that is, the entire governmental system. These two arrange for the election of the angel Nectaire (Trump himself) as President and Contradictor despite his lack of previous military, governmental or even political experience.

Many other supporting characters are identifiable: the female angel Zita (the inimitable Sarah Palin who has already been abed with some of the other guardian angels), the financing angel Sophar (Robert Mercer, Breitbart investor and Trump supporter), the Archangel Michael (Robert Mueller, defender of heavenly interests), the unnamed earth-bound angel still loyal to God (Jeff Flake, of course attacked mercilessly by the rest), Monsieur Sariette (Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, who knows where all the bodies are buried; but this could also be Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, who fits the description of a wizened gnome more exactly), not forgetting the religious support of the Abbé Patouille (a French facsimile of Jerry Falwell).

The plan is simple:Our project," Istar said, "is a vast one. It embraces both Heaven and Earth. It is settled in every detail. We shall first bring about a social revolution ... "' '" this is facilitated by the lack of discernment among the mass of the human population, ""...in a country where the climate is soft and existence made easy? Even here, where necessity calls for intellectual activity, nothing is rarer than a person who thinks."

Consequently the situation is ripe,

"Beneath an apparently unchangeable exterior all is rotten within. A mere push would suffice to overturn an edifice which has not been touched for millions of centuries. Out-worn administration, out-worn army, out-worn finance, the whole thing is more worm-eaten than either the Russian or Persian autocracy."

One might surmise that the execution of such a project demands some level of familiarity with military tactics. But one would be wrong because

"The multiplication of technical means, by infinitely multiplying the opportunities for mistake, paralyses the genius of those in command. At a certain stage in the progress of military science, a stage which our models ...are about to reach, the cleverest leader and the most ignorant become equalized by reason of their incapacity....Great numbers, in war as elsewhere, annihilate intelligence and individual superiority in favour of a sort of exceedingly rudimentary collective soul."

In short, Trump and Kim Jung Un seem well-matched. After all, as everyone knows deep down, "a war is a matter of business."

Unlike the first time round, the rebellious angels do succeed in the divine overthrow. Satan becomes God. But (who could have thought anything else) nothing substantive changes in either heaven or earth. Those in charge have those not in charge to worry about, thus the perpetual cycle of cosmic as well as national politics.

Now, of course, all this could be merely a product of my inflamed imagination. Trump may well have succeeded in mortally infecting my own discernment through his continual, pervasive rhetoric. But there is also the possibility that the entirety of the political events in America is following a perennial script, one not necessarily invented but certainly articulated by Anatole France. Just sayin'.

[Jareed · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as part of my Nobel Prize for Literature Awardees reading list. As it turned out it is one the longest list I will ever try to finish. Sometimes I too wonder where I found the audacity to attempt to foray in this kind of reading list.

The Revolt of the Angels is my initial foray into Anatole France's works, which definitely is not my last one. It was not his first, as France was apparently a poet and a journalist too, but is considered to be his most profound novel. I was a sucker for riveting titles and killer first lines, so I picked this book and read. And read I did.

Anatole France, born 16 April 1844 and died 12 October 1924 was a French poet, journalist, and novelist. His was a lifetime of books. The family business was a bookstore, one which, arguably, could be the best environment to raise a future Nobel Prize awardee. He was schooled in a private Catholic institution which lends credulity to the fact that Anatole France was one hell of a radical as exacerbated by his writings. The rest, as one would say, is history. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1921. Shortly, in 1922, as a response by the institution we all know as the Roman Catholic Church, all his works were banned through the Prohibited Books Index, a list which has been abolished since 1966 and contained the likes of Sartre, Rousseau, Voltaire, Descartes, Locke, Hume, Galileo to name a few. Oh what a delight that list was.

The book itself was written in 1914, a time when France was besieged by the incoming Germanic invasion brought around by the First World War and was troubled at home by the numerous Socialist objections. What dominated this part of French history however was the power struggle between the Church and the State, one that is contained in this exceptional book and which probably served as the backbone for this exceptional work. Overly simplifying this dialectical issue, the struggle existed because the Church is seen to be representing the archaic system of institution embodied by the Monarchy against the desire of the Republicans who utterly detested political and class affiliations that are perpetuated by these monarchies. So from here, Anatole France wrote.

I obtained my FREE e-book copy through Project Gutenberg and was translated from the original French by Frederic Chapman. Apparently, licenses on century old books do not exist. As expected of a work in the early 1900s, a lot of old English words and ones derived from both Latin and French were used like architrave, frieze, verbena, narcissi, demiurge, though let that not deter you from missing on this work. The prose is beautiful as expected from an Nobel Awardee.

Revolt of the Angels tells us of the story of Arcade, a Guardian Angel, the lowest caste of the nine-tiered order of these heavenly beings. It narrates his pursuit of knowledge and how such knowledge led to become the foundation with which he challenge GOD, or as he called it, the DEMIURGE – the creator of the material world – or Ialdabaoth. Yes, this is the same GOD most Christian churches would profess belief to. The book further tells us how he conspired with other ‘fallen’ guardian angels and plotted the overthrow of Ialdabaoth. Intertwined with Arcade’s story is Maurice’s plight of losing his guardian angel, his dishonor and fornication (to which a certain extent Anatole France himself engaged in). The novel’s theme perhaps lies in the age-old philosophical conundrum of knowledge (or science) pitted against religion. Perhaps this conundrum is epitomized by Arcade’s statement:

“When the angels possess some notions of physics, chemistry, astronomy, and physiology; when the study of matter shows them worlds in an atom, and an atom in the myriads of planets; when they see themselves lost between these two infinities; when they weigh and measure the stars, analyse their composition, and calculate their orbits, they will recognize that these monsters work in obedience to forces which no intelligence can define, or that each star has its particular divinity, or indigenous god; and they will realize that the gods of Aldebaran, Betelgeuse, and Sirius are greater than Ialdabaoth.” (39)

What comes across to me however is that we human individuals are like Arcade, like these Angels in revolt. We seek the truth behind things. We learn, and learn and still crave for knowledge. But to where does this knowledge lead us? To me too at the same time we are Maurice. Just like him we all seem to have fallen into a trap. We love life itself so much that we fear losing it, that in any semblance of hope or continuity, we have sometimes turned to belief in numerous institutions, uncritical and naïve. That instead of uplifting the human soul, we have formed for ourselves unbreakable shackles that continue to limit our perception of the world.

"I sought out the laws which govern nature, solid or ethereal, and after much pondering I perceived that the Universe had not been formed as its pretended Creator would have us believe; I knew that all that exists, exists of itself and not by the caprice of Iahveh; that the world is itself its own creator and the spirit its own God. Henceforth I despised Iahveh for his imposture, and I hated him because he showed himself to be opposed to all that I found desirable and good: liberty, curiosity, doubt.” (139)

But what does exactly limit our perception? Is it really a religion, a church, a system of belief? Is it not fear and ignorance that severely limits human understanding and compassion, so much so that in the first place, no actual conflict exists between these forces? Is knowledge really the answer? What does this knowledge refer to?

In the closing part of the book, when the Army has been assembled and Arcade went to ask Satan to lead the army on their march, Satan said this in response:

“As to ourselves, celestial spirits, sublime demons, we have destroyed Ialdabaoth, our Tyrant, if in ourselves we have destroyed Ignorance and Fear." “…We were conquered because we failed to understand that Victory is a Spirit, and that it is in ourselves and in ourselves alone that we must attack and destroy Ialdabaoth.” (292)

The beauty of this statement lies in its verisimilitude. Our demons are given birth by ignorance. It is nurtured by fear and is encouraged by blind obedience. These demons have always been personal in nature. Yet the discrepancy in societal response has become fundamental in nature. We have raised countless institutions that are impersonal and by being so, wholly unresponsive. And more vital to all of this, we fail to recognize “that it is in ourselves and in ourselves alone that we must attack and destroy Ialdabaoth (292).”

I have left the institutional church long ago, embarking on a more personal attempt in understanding things. In a sense, I have aspired to be spiritual without being religious, and have met a great many debates and contest on this aspect. Since then however, I have struggled to conquer my own demons. I have sought to eradicate cynicism and suspicion in receiving and responding to others, and have tried to look for that piece of kindness in everybody. The first step is always recognizing that perhaps the fault lies in ourselves, for this too is the hardest step to make.

This here is a good book. It may literally challenge fundamental beliefs of the religious institution, but what it truly offers is a much needed case of retrospection and examination which doesn't hurt to engage in once in a while. I would recommend it to everyone except that one should still take caution choosing whom you recommend it too. Perhaps if you enjoyed this book like me, a similar theme albeit carried in another plot was written by Jose Saramago, yet another Nobel Prize awardee, entitled The Gospel According to Jesus Christ (3 STARS).




Other Books by Anatole France:
Penguin Island (3 Stars)

This book forms part of my remarkably extensive reading list on Nobel Prize for Literature Awardees

This review has been cross-posted at i'mbookedindefinitely

[AiK · Rating 4 out of 5]

Последний роман Нобелевского лауреата по литературе за 1921 год Анатоля Франса довольно сложно оценить. Сюжет несложен, здесь нет никаких литературных экспериментов, затрудняющих понимание. Сложность, наверное, в ангелологии и иерархии, поскольку неясно, кого он подразумевает под Иалдаваофом или Сатаной. Он критиковал церковь, но мне кажется, что главным объектом критики все-таки были революционеры всех мастей, он воспользовался мифами для критики предреволюционного п��оцесса, ведь роман был написан в 1913 году. Богом он называет Иалдаваофа, которому люди в своем ослеплении поклоняются, как богу, и который всего лишь суетный и невежественный демиург, приведший в относительный порядок незначительную часть мира.
Ангел-хранитель Мориса Аркадий покинул его; начитавшись редких книг в библиотеке д’Эпарвье, он обрел новые знания, и решил остаться среди людей, чтобы поднять восстание на небесах, таким образом, превратившись в деклассированный субъект. Кроме него, восстали еще несколько ангелов, воплотившись в человеческое тело. Все они весьма приземленны в своем поведении – любят кафешантанных певиц, ходят в рестораны. Ангелы-хранители стоят на низшей иерархической лестнице, их много и они недовольны своим положением. Аркадий нашел Теофиля, Зиту, Нектария, Истара – других ангелов. «Ангелы так и падают дождем на Париж» - так их много. В главе XVII он вообще говорит о свыше пятидесяти тысячах восставших ангелов-хранителей, которые были недовольны своим положением и заразились современными идеями. Истар и Аркадий планируют устроить революцию во Франции и на небесах. Франс критикует революционеров - «Аркадий видел, что они не желают никаких помех в своих занятиях, вкусах, привычках. Ошибочность их суждений, их умственная ограниченность возмущали его, а мелкое соперничество, зависть, которую они проявляли по отношению друг к другу, лишали его какой бы то ни было надежды на то, что их можно объединить для общего дела. Наблюдая, до какой ступени изгнание уродует характер, искажает ум, он чувствовал, что мужество покидает его.»
Также критикой революционного процесса можно считать то, что Франс называет влиянием больших чисел, которые сводят к нулю ум и всякое превосходство в пользу «коллективной души», весьма примитивной по своим свойствам.
Роман наполнен философскими размышлениями о жизни. Зита и Аркадий рассуждают о жизни в городе, опершись на парапет монмартрской лестницы. Все, что дышит в этой геенне, (подразумевая Париж), любит жизнь. И в этом великая тайна! Аркадий возражает: "Они несчастны, пока существуют, но перестать существовать для них ужасно. Они не ищут утешения в небытии, не ждут от него даже отдыха. В своем неразумии они даже страшатся небытия; они населили его призраками. Посмотрите-ка на эти фронтоны, колокольни, купола и шпили, которые поднимаются над туманом, увенчанные сверкающим крестом. Люди поклоняются демиургу, который создал для них жизнь хуже смерти и смерть хуже жизни.»
Этот сатирический роман завершается сном Сатаны, который видит во сне свою победу и свержение Ивадаваофа в геенну. Он говорит: «Побежденный бог обратится в Сатану, победоносный Сатана станет богом.» Он видит победу над Иалдаваофом, если мы «победили в себе невежество и страх» . Таким образом, Франс не верил в революцию, ибо «война порождает войну, а победа – поражение» . И в этом он оказался прав, как и в том, что Данте и Мильтону и не снились такой полет фантазии и такие возможные сценарии революции на небесах.

[Garidation · Rating 5 out of 5]

Εξαιρετικό. Αντάρτες άγγελοι μπουχτίζουν από την τυραννία του Θεού, ο οποίος παρουσιάζεται να απεχθάνεται τη γνώση, την προσωπική κρίση και την περιέργεια, και αποφασίζουν να οργανώσουν δεύτερο γύρο εξέγερσης. Λίγο κωμικοτραγικές οι φιγούρες (ο ένας είναι φοβιτσιάρης ειρηνιστής, ο άλλος αντάρτης πόλεων που φτιάχνει home made βόμβες, ένας καρατέκας ιάπωνας, μια σεξοβόμβα...), συναναστρέφονται ανθρώπους, κάνουν λάθη και βλακείες και γενικά η φύση τους γίνεται πιο ανθρώπινη από εκεί που ήταν θεϊκή. Και μέσα σ' όλη αυτή τη παράνοια, υπάρχει ο Εωσφόρος, σοφός, δίκαιος και αναρχικός. Διάβασα σε μια κριτική, πώς ο κόσμος θα ήταν πολύ καλύτερος αν υπήρχαν κι άλλοι άνθρωποι που σκέφτονταν όπως ο Ανατόλ Φρανς και δεν μπόρεσα παρά να συμφωνήσω απόλυτα. 5 αστέρια!
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Αποσπάσματα από το βιβλίο (μην τα διαβάσετε αν δεν θέλετε κανένα σπόιλερ!):

"Σύντροφοι πρέπει ν' αγαλλιάσουμε και να χαρούμε επειδή τώρα έχουμε απελευθερωθεί από την ουράνια δουλεία. Εδώ είμαστε ελεύθεροι κι αξίζει περισσότερ η ελευθερία μες στην κόλαση παρά η σκλαβιά μες στους ουρανούς. Δεν είμαστε καθόλου νικημένοι αφού μας απομένει η θέληση της νίκης. Καταφέραμε να ταρακουνήσουμε το θρόνο του ζηλότυπου Θεού. Θα καταφέρουμε και να τον γκρεμίσουμε. Ορθοί σύντροφοι και ψηλά τις καρδιές." Πώρωσέ μας ρε Εωσφόρε!

"Σύντροφοι, είπε ο Μέγας Αρχάγγελος, όχι, δε θα κατακτήσουμε τον Ουρανό. Αρκεί που το μπορούμε. Ο πόλεμος γεννάει τον πόλεμο και η νίκη την ήττα. Ο νικημένος Θεός θα γίνει Σατανάς και ο νικητής Σατανάς, Θεός. Είθε να μη μου λάχει μια τόσο συφοριασμένη μοίρα! [...] Όσο για μας, πνεύματα ουράνια, δαίμονες υπέρτατοι, εμείς έχουμε καταστρέψει τον τύραννό μας Ιαλταμπαώθ αν καταστρέψαμε μέσα μας την άγνοια και το φόβο."

[Makis Dionis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Αληγορικο ως προς τη σχέση εξουσίας και εξουσιαζομενου, με φιλοσοφικές προεκτάσεις. Δηλώνει αρκετά εύγλωττα πως η αλλαγή/επανάσταση/ριζοσπαστικοποίηση πρέπει να ξεκινήσει από ψηλά, αλλά σταδιακά απαιτείται κ η συμμετοχή της βάσης... Ωστόσο βαρέθηκα αρκετά πριν το τέλος

[Arax Miltiadous · Rating 4 out of 5]

" Σύντροφοι,
όχι δεν θα κατακτήσουμε τον ουρανό. Φτάνει που το μπορούμε.
Ο πόλεμος γεννάει τον πόλεμο και η νίκη την ήττα.
ο νικημένος θεός θα γίνει σατανάς και ο νικητής σατανάς, Θεός.
Είθε να μην μου λάχει μια τόσο συφοριασμένη κατάρα. "

Αναλογίζομαι πως θα ήταν ο κόσμος αν υπήρχαν περισσότεροι άνθρωποι σαν τον Anatole France. Δλδ, αυτό το βιβλίο είναι ένα εξαιρετικό δημιούργημα που μόνο ένας υπέροχος νους θα μπορούσε να συλλάβει και να αποδώσει, χωρίς να γίνει προβοκάτορας.
Η αντίδραση και η Επανάσταση στην πιο αθώα και αρχέτυπη μορφή τους. Η σκέψη, ο ιδεαλισμός και η διεκδίκηση των δικαιωμάτων των Αγγέλων από τον Θεό μα και πάρα ταύτα, η ολίσθηση και η καταστροφή αυτών που δεν είχαν σύνεση, η Νιρβάνα αυτών που έψαχναν άπλα την ελευθερία και η μαχητικότητα αυτών που δεν συμβιβάστηκαν με τίποτα λιγότερο από το απόλυτο. Όλα εδώ, σκιαγραφούνται με ακρίβεια, λεπτομέρεια και ποίηση.
Αυτό το βιβλίο πραγματικά θα έπρεπε να διδάσκετε στα σχολειά.
Συνιστώ λοιπόν, ανεπιφύλακτα.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

a espécie de verdade que se encontra nos livros, é uma verdade que nos faz entrever, por vezes, como as coisas não são, sem nunca nos levar a descobrir como elas são.

Um anjo-da-guarda com acesso a uma biblioteca privada, com trezentos e sessenta mil livros, tem como resultado um anjo livre e esclarecido que planeia uma revolta para destituir o pai celeste do seu cargo, que será ocupado por Satã.
A guerra gera a guerra e a vitória a derrota. Deus vencido tornar-se-á Satã. Satã vencedor tornar-se-á Deus.

A Revolta dos Anjos é um romance muito divertido que critica a religião e a política e glorifica a inteligência e o conhecimento — os tiranos só serão destruídos quando tivermos destruído em nós próprios a ignorância e o medo.


_____________
Prémio Nobel da Literatura 1921
Anatole France nasceu em França (Paris) em 16 de abril de 1844 e morreu em França em 12 de outubro de 1924.
Admirado por Marcel Proust (1871-1922), é considerado um dos modelos para a personagem Bergotte de Em Busca do Tempo Perdido.

[Αταλάντη Ευριπίδου · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ένα βιβλίο που δεν ήταν καθόλου αυτό που φανταζόμουν και με εξέπληξε ευχάριστα με αυτό που πραγματικά ήταν. Πρώτη μου επαφή με τον Ανατόλ Φρανς και εκτίμησα ιδιαίτερα τόσο αυτά που προσπαθούσε να πει χρησιμοποιώντας ως όχημα μια δεύτερη ανταρσία των αγγέλων όσο και το κομψό του χιούμορ. Η αφήγηση κλασσικίζει σε βαθμό που μου φάνηκε το έργο παλιότερο απ' όσο πραγματικά είναι, αλλά δεν με πείραξε, μιας κι έχω διαβάσει πολλή κλασική (ιδιαίτερα κλασσική Γαλλική) λογοτεχνία. Και παρόλο που όλο το βιβλίο είναι αξιόλογο, είναι το τέλος του αυτό που έρχεται πραγματικά να το απογειώσει - μια ανατρεπτική μη-ανατροπή που δένει όμορφα μαζί όλα εκείνα τα οποία απ' την αρχή σου χτίζει το μυθιστόρημα.

[Έλσα · Rating 2 out of 5]

Όσο με ενθουσίασε η περίληψη τόσο με απογοήτευσε η προσέγγισή του.
Αρκετά σατιρικό για τα γούστα μου!

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that could only have been written in France. And poor Anatole France got on the Catholic Church's Index of Forbidden Books for his efforts. The Revolt of the Angels is not really a work of irreligion as it is of gentle irony.

It all starts when Arcade, the guardian angel of Maurice d'Esparvieu, starts reading books in the famed d'Esparvieu library and decides that the God whom he served was actually a demiurge named Ialdabaoth. He enlists other angels who are living among men to join him, and with the collaboration of Satan, storm Heaven. At one point, Arcade is upbraided by one of his fellow rebels:

We are on the eve of surprising Ialdabaoth in his palace of porphyry, and you, who are burning to deliver the heavens, who were so eager to enter in triumph into your emancipated country,—you suddenly forget your noble purpose and fall asleep in the arms of the daughters of men. What pleasure can you find in intercourse with these unclean little animals, composed, as they are, of elements so unstable that they may be said to be in a state of constant evanescence? O Arcade! I was indeed right to distrust you.

There is, indeed, a gentle Gallic touch to this revolt. It's interesting that the Church took such offense to it.

[Con Bé Ki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sách hay. Cứ cuốn nào mà hút ta đọc một mạch từ đầu đến cuối không ngừng nghỉ thì bỏ mặc tất cả mọi thứ sang một bên, đấy là một cuốn sách hay :D

Nói chứ đọc cuốn này thấy "nhớ" Đỏ và Đen, bởi nó cứ giông giống thế nào đấy, chắc là do cùng 1 người dịch.

Nói chung, hãy cứ như anh chàng Maurice trong sách, đại loại là cứ chuyên tâm học cách lẩn tránh việc hiểu sách nói gì, để rồi chính sự lẩn tránh đó mà ta sẽ gặt hái được không thứ này thì cũng thứ kia. Cứ hiểu ít còn hơn là hiểu sai.

Thích câu này: "các thiên sứ tốt cũng có thể sai lầm, họ phạm tội lỗi hằng ngày và từ trên trời họ rơi xuống như ruồi."

[Lisa of Troy]

This is a book that F. Scott Fitzgerald recommended in his College of One, a set of 40 books he considered necessary for an education: https://www.listchallenges.com/f-scot...

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clever and mischievous take on the theology of modern society, The Revolt of the Angels follows the path of Arcade, a lowly guardian angel, as he happens upon the ugly truths of his divine master in the library of his human charge. Anatole France takes what could be a very dry polemic against the slavery of religion and makes it into a charming romp with his gifts for characterization and story-telling. As Maurice, the young man abandoned by Arcade, struggles to get his guardian back, we are shown a wide variety of France’s artistic personalities, most of whom are fallen angels. As they gather together a make-shift rebellion against God, it’s hard not to get caught up in their underdog story, even as the ending delivers them a stunning, if rather intellectual, deathblow.

“We judge human actions by the pleasure or pain they cause us.”

“Hapless as we are, the same blind force which regulates the courses of atom and of star fashions universal order from our vicissitudes. Our ill-fortune is necessary to the harmony of the Universe.”

“If to act we had to know the secret of Nature, one would never act at all. And neither would one live- since to live is to act.”

[Daniela · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is basically a treatise on atheism. It is also a good example of a "novel of ideas". The story is fairly simple. A guardian angel discovers a library that belongs to the father of his charge, and starts reading. As he reads on, he realises that the Being he recognized as master and as God of all things was nothing but a demiurge, one among many, ignorant and cruel, who enforces his rule in Heaven by sheer force. He then sets off to rally the other "fallen" angels and spark a rebellion against said demiurge.

I liked how ideas were presented here. There's the obvious praise of Classical Antiquity as a superior culture and the positivist despise for the Middle Ages. There's the criticism of the Third Republic and of the several groups that composed it - mainly royalists and catholics. Unsurprisingly, considering the time and setting, Catholics are France's main target.

I believe this could also be considered a good example of early 20th century fantasy. Overall, I enjoyed it, although I thought some sections were a bit rushed. Still, it makes very good points about the nature of liberty and the importance of knowledge. It's also a great introduction to Anatole France.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book offers a heartening plot idea: the overthrow of god by revolting angels who have discovered the true origin and function of the universe through science. Ordinarily such a story would provide plenty of good reading and feeling which any intellectual critique of religion can offer to anyone with an open mind. My low rating for the book is not because of the plot but because I just was not captivated by the writing. Maybe it was the translation. It would be great if a new author would write this story. Maybe someone already has?

[Malum · Rating 5 out of 5]

religion, trusting spiritual woo-woo over science, and the corrupting nature of ultimate power are all delved into in this novel, in which fallen angels come to earth to plan the overthrow of heaven (and the fallen angels are the good guys).

This novel put me in mind of my favorite Russian novel The Master and Margarita. If you like one of these novels, you will likely find something to enjoy in the other.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

France has written an atheistic twist on the War in Heaven narrative, in which God is an authoritarian warlord who destroyed the bucolic existence of pagan gods interacting peacefully with humans due to a despotic desire to be the one and only god and sole ruler of all the cosmos. After guardian angels in the twentieth century raid a human’s home library in Paris and read some anarchist texts about overthrowing established order, they decide to rebel against their status as indentured servants (forced to be chained to humans as guardian angels, until humans die and enter a prison of their own called “heaven”), and help Satan in his long revolutionary fight to free the cosmos from this rogue, despotic, militaristic Lord. France crafts a satire on both Christian parables of good vs. evil and the rise of fin de siècle anarchist groups. It’s a funny, clever twist on an old story, even if not exactly a novel concept in Western literature.

Since this book is no longer in print, I recommend the translation by Mrs. Wilfrid Jackson in The Great Novels of Anatole France (1914, republished in 1918), where you can also get Penguin Island and The Crime of Sylvestre Bonnard (the latter translated by Lafcadio Hearn), or in The Six Greatest Novels by Anatole France (1918), with the same translations just mentioned, plus The Gods Are Athirst, Thaïs, and The Red Lily. You will want to read them all for their subversive flair as satires on politics, religion, and the social order. Revolt of the Angels is the least dated, even if it is also the most topical, along with Penguin Island.

Another subversive book that will never be banned in the U.S. today because the faux-righteous goblins with matches don't even know Anatole's France's name. So feel free to purchase this one for your local high school’s library and spread some freethinking cheer.

[Ed Erwin · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a miracle! There is no other way I can explain how a book about angels plotting to overthrow heaven could be so boring.

"The most majestic whole is composed of a thousand minute details.

Unfortunately, so is this book.

Almost all of the "action" takes place on earth and is mostly a romantic-comedy farce. Eventually the angels get their act together and go meet up with Lucifer and he sleeps on it, has a dream in which he sees that if he overthrows Jehovah he will become exactly like him and Jehovah will become exactly like Lucifer, so he decides not to do it.

There were a few fun bits, like this exchange with a non-believer:

The angel shrugged his shoulders and, addressing Gaétan, said:

"Alas! Monsieur, I am not surprised at finding little credit in your eyes. I have been told that you have fallen out with the Judæo-Christian heaven, which is where I came from."

"Monsieur," answered Gaétan, "my faith in Jehovah is not sufficiently strong to enable me to believe in his angels."

"Monsieur, he whom you call Jehovah is really a coarse and ignorant demiurge, and his name is Ialdabaoth."

"In that case, Monsieur, I am perfectly ready to believe in him. He is a narrow-minded ignoramus, is he? Then belief in his existence offers me no further difficulty. How is he getting on?"

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Revolt of the Angels again for Bibliogoth, practically in one sitting. I really enjoyed it. Revolutionaries disguised as angels and politics disguised as religion. It has old libraries full of books, love affairs, and bombs. It’s a book that hardly anyone has ever heard of but if you can find a copy it’s well worth a read.

[Tô · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Vừa ăn miếng bánh mì rán với bơ và jămbong, chàng trai vừa nói với thiên thần của chàng:
- Tôi vẫn tưởng rằng tội ác là một cái gì lạ thường. Ấy đó! Tôi đã lầm. Đó là một hành động đơn giản nhất, tự nhiên nhất trần đời.
- Và truyền thống nhất, - thiên thần đối đáp..."

[Tentatively, Convenience · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's becoming obvious that many of my bk 'reviews' are actually just excuses for anecdotes w/ just a little bk review thrown in here & there. That's the case here. I've been writing a math humor bk called "Paradigm Shift Knuckle Sandwich & other examples of PNT (Perverse Number Theory)" - in fact, it's more or less finished now: I'm just working on the Glossary & the Index. Part of this bk entails my navigating thru my notes about math bks that I read between, roughly, 2003 & 2005. In one of them, I ran across mention of Anatole France's novel entitled (in English translation) "The Revolt of the Angels". I'd made a note to myself to find & read that. Then, in another note I found France quoted by one of the math bk authors. So that strengthened the resolve to read something by him. Now, I've known about A France for at least 32 yrs & I have his "Penguin Island" in my library - but I'd never read that or anything else by him. I was never that curious. In the back of my mind (in the visual cortex? Just Kidding), I think I always thought of him as a pop novelist & never had much interest. ANYWAY, the reason why I knew about him ±32 yrs ago is because of something that I eventually worked into this bk I just wrote. SO, read the relevant excerpt below & then I promise to move onto the actual review:

"Beckmann goes on to diss Aristotle, who he describes as the "one whose teachings held up the progress of science for close to 2,000 years". Ha ha! "Aristotle, we are invariably told, was 'antiquity's most brilliant intellect,' and the explanation of this weird assertion, I believe, is best summarized in Anatole France's words: The books that everybody admires are the books that nobody reads." Coincidentally, I've been vacillating about whether to talk about what I call Bird-Brainism, wch I've so far decided against, but now that A. France is mentioned, the time for a segue has clearly come.

"While reading these math bks, some non-math bk might be mentioned that seemed interesting, so I'd make note of it. In the Turing bio, Elmer Rice's play Judgment Day, about the Reichstag fire trial, was mentioned; Nobel Prize winning French author Anatole France's La Revolte des Anges (The Revolt of the Angels) was mentioned elsewhere. I've gotten both out of the library recently.

"Anatole France has the fate, perhaps somewhat unfortunate, of being the guy whose posthumously determined small brain size (2.24 pounds as opposed to the average 3 pounds) is used to demonstrate that "big brain" doesn't automatically correlate w/ "intelligence".

"When I was in my early 20s I took a Physical Anthropology class at a community college. That's probably where the subject of France's brain-size & its significance was mentioned. The 1st paper I wrote for that class is reproduced below:

"The Significance of Efficient Brain-Use

"Anthropologists have used cranial capacity as an indicator of the degree of mental ability. This makes Neanderthals "superior" to "twentieth-century" people. This practice is based on the belief that the brain's ability to manipulate functions is relative to its # of cells. However, a major mental ability increase is not necessarily accompanied by brain-size increase.

"NAVIGATION: Bird-Brainism

"Bird-Brains must remain small & light & still function complexly in order for flight to occur. This requires great brain efficiency rather than great size. Homonids could follow this example & make birthing less painful for the mother with a smaller head size.

"If one accepts the idea that words & images are a major building block of thinking, one step toward greater brain efficiency might be to exploit the ambiguities of language to permit a multitude of simultaneously productive thoughts.
In a society of interdependent specialists, the ability to create & send & receive useful synopsises can simplify the need for each individual to go through processes redundant in terms of the societal whole. Telepathy can make a person part of a giant brain without the need for a one-body housing.

"There is a religious myth of winged homonids as beings on a higher evolutionary plane than non-winged homonids. It should be obvious by now that these beings, commonly called angels, should more properly be called Bird-Brains."

SO, I finally got "The Revolt of the Angels" out of the library & just finished reading it at 2AM today. I was pleasantly surprised, it was, perhaps, more interesting than I expected. I wd've given it a 4 star rating but he makes stereotypical statements about Jews that I found so offensive that it lowered my estimation of his intelligence. In fact, he wrote it around the beginning of so-called World War I, in 1914, & he somewhat conflates Jews & Germans together as bad guys at one point. Now, that's an oversimplification - since I'm taking it out of context - but, still, it's interesting considering later German anti-semitic developments.

The plot of the bk is basically that there are angels on Earth who've chosen to be here b/c they prefer it to heaven for one reason or another. One of them is one of the main human characters' guardian angel & he decides to stop working in that function in order to organize a revolt of the angels against God - who's represented as not being the actual creator but merely a demiurge dictator. Satan is represented as intelligent & benign, by contrast. One of the things that interests me about this bk is that it cd clearly be called "Satanist" insofar as Satan is depicted favorably & many of the protaganists are allied w/ him. Nonetheless, A France won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1921. That's fine w/ me but it seems strange given the way this world usually works. A writer of a flagrantly "Satanist" bk getting the Nobel Prize? I wd've been tempted to deny it to him just on the basis of his Jewish stereotyping - but that's a different story. I will say that I think he's a good writer.

[Ioanna Sakkadaki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Είμαι στο 3,5 νομίζω. Ενώ στην αρχή μου κέντρισε το ενδιαφέρον, σταδιακά με κούρασε και μου άφησε μία αίσθηση αβεβαιότητας... Νιώθω ότι ο συγγραφέας ενώ κάτι ήθελε να πει , το άφησε στη μέση για κάποιο λόγο... Παρά ταύτα, έχει αρκετά ενδιαφέροντα σημεία, ειδικότερα δε όσον αφορά την εξουσία,την αλαζονεία ως φυσικό επακόλουθο της εκάστοτε "αυθεντίας" αλλά και της δομής της ανθρώπινης κοινωνίας διαχρονικά... Σε γενικές γραμμές, περίμενα μάλλον πολύ περισσότερα, με μία πιο δομημένη και ξεκάθαρη οπτική.

[Carlo Hublet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ecriture sous forme de fantastique. Lucifer tente un coup d'Etat sur la Terre. Géniel pamphlet contre le pouvoir partagé (en France) entre église catholique et armée. Une critique sociale toujours d'actualité, écriture fluide et grinçante.

[Smassing Culture · Rating 5 out of 5]

Κείμενο στο Smassing Culture

Ελεύθερα πνεύματα ενάντια στον άρχοντα Θεό

Ο κατάλογος με τους μεγάλους συγγραφείς που το Βατικανό θεωρούσε επικίνδυνους για τη χριστιανική πίστη, είναι πολύ μεγάλος και περιλαμβάνει προσωπικότητες, μεταξύ άλλων, από τον Ζαν Ζακ Ρουσσώ, τον Ζαν-Πωλ Σαρτρ και τον Μπαρούχ Σπινόζα μέχρι τον Ονορέ ντε Μπαλζάκ, τον Καρλ Μαρξ και τον Νίκο Καζαντζάκη. Σε αυτή την άκρως τιμητική λίστα βρίσκεται και ο Γάλλος συγγραφέας και κριτικός Ανατόλ Φρανς (1844-1924), ο οποίος με το έργο του στράφηκε πολλές φορές κατά της οργανωμένης θρησκείας αλλά και απέναντι σε κάθε τι που στρεφόταν ενάντια στην ελεύθερη σκέψη. Βαθιά επηρεασμένος από τη Γαλλική Επανάσταση, μετά τις -ανολοκλήρωτες- σπουδές του στρατεύτηκε για κάποιο διάστημα με το Σοσιαλιστικό Κόμμα της Γαλλίας θεωρώντας τον εαυτό του κομμάτι του ευρύτερου αριστερού χώρου της εποχής, ασκώντας όμως κριτική και στην ίδια τη Σοβιετική Ένωση, ενώ το 1921 τιμήθηκε με το βραβείο Νόμπελ.

Ένα από τα έργα του, το οποίο μέχρι και σήμερα, θεωρείται κλασικό και έπαιξε μεγάλο ρόλο στην προαναφερθείσα τιμητική λίστα του Βατικανού, είναι Η ανταρσία των αγγέλων. Το βιβλίο αυτό, κυκλοφόρησε το 1914 στη Γαλλία, και μεταφέρθηκε στην ελληνική γλώσσα από τις εκδόσεις Αστάρτη του 1994 σε μετάφραση Λόισκας Αβαγιανού με την πέμπτη έκδοση να κυκλοφορεί το καλοκαίρι του 2019.

Η ιστορία λαμβάνει χώρα στο Παρίσι στις αρχές του 20ου αιώνα, παρουσιάζοντας την πλούσια οικογένεια Ντ’ Εσπαρβιέ, ο πατέρας της οποίας έχει μία τεράστια βιβλιοθήκη γεμάτη με σπάνια και σημαντικά ιστορικά και θρησκευτικά βιβλία. Ξεκινώντας από αυτή τη βιβλιοθήκη, ο φύλακας άγγελος του Μωρίς Ντ’ Εσπαρβιέ, γιου της οικογένειας, με το γήινο όνομα Αρκάδιος, προσπαθεί να αποκτήσει την κατάλληλη θρησκευτική και ιστορική γνώση ώστε να ανατρέψει τον εξουσιαστή Θεό που μέχρι πρότινος υπηρετούσε.

Σταδιακά ο Αρκάδιος θα έρθει σε επαφή και με άλλους αγγέλους που έχουν παρατήσει την ουράνια φύση τους και πλέον ζουν και εργάζονται ως άνθρωποι στο Παρίσι, με αυτό να συνεπάγεται πως αδυναμίες και ελαττώματα που υπάρχουν στην ανθρώπινη φύση κάνουν εμφανή την παρουσία τους. Μέσα από καλλιτεχνικές και πολιτικές αναζητήσεις στις μποέμ περιοχές της γαλλικής πρωτεύουσας οι άγγελοι αυτοί θα έρθουν σε επαφή μεταξύ τους προσπαθώντας να θέσουν σε εφαρμογή το σχέδιό τους περί ανατροπής του Θεού και άνοδο στον ουράνιο θρόνο του επαναστάτη Εωσφόρου.

Ο Ανατόλ Φρανς, επηρεασμένος μεταξύ άλλων από τον Γνωστικισμό, παρουσιάζει τον χριστιανικό Θεό ως ένα άπληστο, εξουσιαστικό ων ανίκανο να κατανοήσει τη δύναμη του σύμπαντος και που ο στόχος του είναι να έχει τους ανθρώπους και τους διάφορους ουράνιους αγγέλους υποτελείς στην εξουσία του. Ταυτόχρονα κάνει μια μεγάλη ιστορική αναδρομή στους αρχαίους λαούς οι οποίοι σύμφωνα με τον ίδιο κατέχοντας την ομορφιά της ψυχής τους και της ψυχαγωγίας, με θεούς όπως ο Διόνυσος, δεν είχαν ανάγκη τη χριστιανική φιλοσοφία που έκανε τους ανθρώπους να χρωστάνε στο Θεό από τη γέννησή τους ακόμα.

Ταυτόχρονα, με την πλευρά των εξεγερμένων αγγέλων, ο Ανατόλ Φρανς βάζοντας άπλετο χιούμορ και σαρκασμό στο κείμενο, παρουσιάζει μία αρχέτυπη μορφή της επανάστασης μακριά από προσωπικά συμφέροντα. Οι άγγελοι έχοντας στην ουσία άγνοια κινδύνου, βάζουν τον ιδεαλισμό τους πάνω απ’ όλα προσπαθώντας να διεκδικήσουν τα δικαιώματα που τους ανήκουν μέχρι τέλους, σε μία περίοδο αμέσως πριν τον Α’ Παγκόσμιο Πόλεμο και την Οκτωβριανή Επανάσταση αλλά και λίγα χρόνια μετά την Ρωσική Επανάσταση του 1905 και την Παρισινή Κομμούνα του 1871. Με δεδομένο πως όλα αυτά συμβαίνουν στους δρόμους και τα δωμάτια του Παρισιού, ο Ανατόλ Φρανς σκιαγραφεί τις ανθρώπινες φιγούρες που παρελαύνουν και συναναστρέφονται τους αγγέλους, με τις αδυναμίες τους και τα ελαττώματά τους, ενώ την ίδια στιγμή δείχνει πώς η εξουσία και η αστυνομία προσπαθούν να εκμεταλλευτούν διάφορες εξεγέρσεις προς όφελός τους.

Εν κατακλείδι, με την Ανταρσία των Αγγέλων ο Ανατόλ Φρανς δημιούργησε ένα έργο που δικαίως θεωρείται κλασικό. Το βιβλίο αυτό βρίθει συμβολισμών και κριτικής για την πολιτική και θρησκευτική κοινωνία των αρχών του 20ου αιώνα, και ταυτόχρονα, κάτι παραπάνω από έναν αιώνα μετά την έκδοσή του, μπορούν να βρουν εφαρμογή στα σημερινά δεδομένα, κάτι που οφείλει να βάλει σε σκέψεις όσους έχουν την τύχη να το διαβάσουν, και όχι μόνο.

[Μιχάλης Παπαχατζάκης · Rating 4 out of 5]

[- Τι πλάνη, απαντούσε ο Αρκάδιος, να ελπίζεις σε απότομες και μεγάλες αλλαγές στο κοινωνικό καθεστώς της Ευρώπης! Η παλιά κοινωνία είναι ακόμα γεμάτη σφρίγος και δύναμη. Διαθέτει τρομακτικά αμυντικά μέσα. Αντίθετα το προλεταριάτο μόλις και μετά βίας παρουσιάζει μια στοιχειώδη αμυντική οργάνωση κι είναι γεμάτο αδυναμία και σύγχυση. Στη δικιά μας ουράνια πατρίδα τα πράγματα είναι εντελώς αλλιώτικα: κάτω από μια φαινομενικά αμετάβλητη εμφάνιση τα πάντα είναι σάπια. Αρκεί μια σπρωξιά για να ρίξει κάτω αυτό το οικοδόμημα που εδώ και μυριάδες αιώνες δεν το έχει αγγίξει τίποτα. Παλιωμενη διοίκηση, παλιωμένος στρατός, παλιωμενη οικονομικά, όλα αυτά είναι πιο σαρακοφαγωμένα απ' όσο η Ρώσικη ή η Πέρσικη αυτοκρατορία.] (σελ.85)

Πολύ σωστά τα είπε ο άγγελος του μυθιστορήματός σου Ανατόλ Φρανς. Επιβεβαιώθηκε μετά από τρία χρόνια. Το εντυπωσιακό στους στρατευμένους καλλιτέχνες (ο Α.Φρανς ήταν μέλος του Σοσιαλιστικού Κόμματος) είναι ο ρεαλισμός της φαντασίας του. Οξύμωρο; Κι όμως, όταν γράφει για την επανάσταση που σχεδιάζουν οι άγγελοι για να ρίξουν τον Θεό- ειναι το θέμα του βιβλίου- οι αναλογίες με τα επίγεια είναι εξώφθαλμες. Όλο το βιβλίο αποτελεί μια κριτική στην κατεστημένη τάξη, στον χριστιανισμό, αλλά και στον αναρχικό τυχοδιωκτισμό που την πρώτη δεκαετία του 20ου αιώνα ανέπτυξε πλήρη δράση.

Είναι εκπληκτική η διαίσθηση ορισμένων λογοτεχνών. Ο συγκεκριμένος θεωρείται από τους καλύτερους της Γαλλίας. Μίλησε για πολιτική προβάλλοντας τα ανθρώπινα πάθη, αγγελικά και διαβολικά, στο βιβλίο ετούτο.

[Tieu uyen · Rating 4 out of 5]

cuốn sách hay nhất của Anatole France

[Δημήτρης · Rating 5 out of 5]

Για το Smassing Culture.

Ελεύθερα πνεύματα ενάντια στον άρχοντα Θεό

Ο κατάλογος με τους μεγάλους συγγραφείς που το Βατικανό θεωρούσε επικίνδυνους για τη χριστιανική πίστη, είναι πολύ μεγάλος και περιλαμβάνει προσωπικότητες, μεταξύ άλλων, από τον Ζαν Ζακ Ρουσσώ, τον Ζαν-Πωλ Σαρτρ και τον Μπαρούχ Σπινόζα μέχρι τον Ονορέ ντε Μπαλζάκ, τον Καρλ Μαρξ και τον Νίκο Καζαντζάκη. Σε αυτή την άκρως τιμητική λίστα βρίσκεται και ο Γάλλος συγγραφέας και κριτικός Ανατόλ Φρανς (1844-1924), ο οποίος με το έργο του στράφηκε πολλές φορές κατά της οργανωμένης θρησκείας αλλά και απέναντι σε κάθε τι που στρεφόταν ενάντια στην ελεύθερη σκέψη. Βαθιά επηρεασμένος από τη Γαλλική Επανάσταση, μετά τις -ανολοκλήρωτες- σπουδές του στρατεύτηκε για κάποιο διάστημα με το Σοσιαλιστικό Κόμμα της Γαλλίας θεωρώντας τον εαυτό του κομμάτι του ευρύτερου αριστερού χώρου της εποχής, ασκώντας όμως κριτική και στην ίδια τη Σοβιετική Ένωση, ενώ το 1921 τιμήθηκε με το βραβείο Νόμπελ.

Ένα από τα έργα του, το οποίο μέχρι και σήμερα, θεωρείται κλασικό και έπαιξε μεγάλο ρόλο στην προαναφερθείσα τιμητική λίστα του Βατικανού, είναι Η ανταρσία των αγγέλων. Το βιβλίο αυτό, κυκλοφόρησε το 1914 στη Γαλλία, και μεταφέρθηκε στην ελληνική γλώσσα από τις εκδόσεις Αστάρτη του 1994 σε μετάφραση Λόισκας Αβαγιανού με την πέμπτη έκδοση να κυκλοφορεί το καλοκαίρι του 2019.

Η ιστορία λαμβάνει χώρα στο Παρίσι στις αρχές του 20ου αιώνα, παρουσιάζοντας την πλούσια οικογένεια Ντ’ Εσπαρβιέ, ο πατέρας της οποίας έχει μία τεράστια βιβλιοθήκη γεμάτη με σπάνια και σημαντικά ιστορικά και θρησκευτικά βιβλία. Ξεκινώντας από αυτή τη βιβλιοθήκη, ο φύλακας άγγελος του Μωρίς Ντ’ Εσπαρβιέ, γιου της οικογένειας, με το γήινο όνομα Αρκάδιος, προσπαθεί να αποκτήσει την κατάλληλη θρησκευτική και ιστορική γνώση ώστε να ανατρέψει τον εξουσιαστή Θεό που μέχρι πρότινος υπηρετούσε.

Σταδιακά ο Αρκάδιος θα έρθει σε επαφή και με άλλους αγγέλους που έχουν παρατήσει την ουράνια φύση τους και πλέον ζουν και εργάζονται ως άνθρωποι στο Παρίσι, με αυτό να συνεπάγεται πως αδυναμίες και ελαττώματα που υπάρχουν στην ανθρώπινη φύση κάνουν εμφανή την παρουσία τους. Μέσα από καλλιτεχνικές και πολιτικές αναζητήσεις στις μποέμ περιοχές της γαλλικής πρωτεύουσας οι άγγελοι αυτοί θα έρθουν σε επαφή μεταξύ τους προσπαθώντας να θέσουν σε εφαρμογή το σχέδιό τους περί ανατροπής του Θεού και άνοδο στον ουράνιο θρόνο του επαναστάτη Εωσφόρου.

Ο Ανατόλ Φρανς, επηρεασμένος μεταξύ άλλων από τον Γνωστικισμό, παρουσιάζει τον χριστιανικό Θεό ως ένα άπληστο, εξουσιαστικό ων ανίκανο να κατανοήσει τη δύναμη του σύμπαντος και που ο στόχος του είναι να έχει τους ανθρώπους και τους διάφορους ουράνιους αγγέλους υποτελείς στην εξουσία του. Ταυτόχρονα κάνει μια μεγάλη ιστορική αναδρομή στους αρχαίους λαούς οι οποίοι σύμφωνα με τον ίδιο κατέχοντας την ομορφιά της ψυχής τους και της ψυχαγωγίας, με θεούς όπως ο Διόνυσος, δεν είχαν ανάγκη τη χριστιανική φιλοσοφία που έκανε τους ανθρώπους να χρωστάνε στο Θεό από τη γέννησή τους ακόμα.

Ταυτόχρονα, με την πλευρά των εξεγερμένων αγγέλων, ο Ανατόλ Φρανς βάζοντας άπλετο χιούμορ και σαρκασμό στο κείμενο, παρουσιάζει μία αρχέτυπη μορφή της επανάστασης μακριά από προσωπικά συμφέροντα. Οι άγγελοι έχοντας στην ουσία άγνοια κινδύνου, βάζουν τον ιδεαλισμό τους πάνω απ’ όλα προσπαθώντας να διεκδικήσουν τα δικαιώματα που τους ανήκουν μέχρι τέλους, σε μία περίοδο αμέσως πριν τον Α’ Παγκόσμιο Πόλεμο και την Οκτωβριανή Επανάσταση αλλά και λίγα χρόνια μετά την Ρωσική Επανάσταση του 1905 και την Παρισινή Κομμούνα του 1871. Με δεδομένο πως όλα αυτά συμβαίνουν στους δρόμους και τα δωμάτια του Παρισιού, ο Ανατόλ Φρανς σκιαγραφεί τις ανθρώπινες φιγούρες που παρελαύνουν και συναναστρέφονται τους αγγέλους, με τις αδυναμίες τους και τα ελαττώματά τους, ενώ την ίδια στιγμή δείχνει πώς η εξουσία και η αστυνομία προσπαθούν να εκμεταλλευτούν διάφορες εξεγέρσεις προς όφελός τους.

Εν κατακλείδι, με την Ανταρσία των Αγγέλων ο Ανατόλ Φρανς δημιούργησε ένα έργο που δικαίως θεωρείται κλασικό. Το βιβλίο αυτό βρίθει συμβολισμών και κριτικής για την πολιτική και θρησκευτική κοινωνία των αρχών του 20ου αιώνα, και ταυτόχρονα, κάτι παραπάνω από έναν αιώνα μετά την έκδοσή του, μπορούν να βρουν εφαρμογή στα σημερινά δεδομένα, κάτι που οφείλει να βάλει σε σκέψεις όσους έχουν την τύχη να το διαβάσουν, και όχι μόνο.

[Andy Hoover · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a mess. An arrogant Frankophile's take on Paradise Lost with a tiresome Hellenistic hand job throw in for good measure.

If I was to write this review in the style of this book, I would repeat myself three times for each sentence, trying to use fancier and fancier synonyms each time, mixing in half baked references to showcase my superior education, and then, half way, I would divert to a terrible semi-related story that served little purpose other than to pad the page count.

Finally, after arduous page after horrible page, including a long rambling rip off of Rapheal in the Garden, I would just have a Surprise Guest Star appear and explain it all away after a shitty dream sequence. Yup. Really.

The moral doesn't even matter, so rubbish is the delivery.

[Oto Bakradze · Rating 4 out of 5]

მოკლედ, სიუჟეტი არის ეგეთი: ერთი პერსონაჟის მიწაზე მოვლენილი მფარველი ანგელოზი რომ შეიცნობს ფიზიკისა და ბუნების კანონებს, ღმერთის მიერ დადგენილ წყობილებაში ეჭვი შეეპარება და თავისნაირ ანგელოზებთან ერთად ჯანყს და მის ჩამოგდებას გადაწყვეტს.

აი სრული ჩაჭერაა. 100 წლის წინ ასეთი მკრეხელური ტექსტის დაწერას მაგარი გამბედაობა ჭირდებოდა. ან საერთოდ როგორ გამოსცეს.

მოკლედ ანატოლ ფრანსის ორი(ვე) რომანი წავიკითხე რაც ქართულადაა ნათარგმნი და მაგარი პროგრესული ბაბუა ყოფილა. ისეთი ტექსტები აქვს დღევანდელობაშიც რომ აქტუალურია და თავის სიტყვას იტყოდა. ტყუილად არ მიუციათ ნობელი როგორც ჩანს. 👍🏻

[Tuấn Lalarme · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lâu lắm rồi mới lại độc văn học cổ điển. Và thật nể Anatole France về kiến thức của ông với những điển tích điển cố trong Kinh Thánh, trong lịch sử, và sự kết nối nó lại để tạo nên một tác phẩm đậm tính hoài nghi về xã hội với tôn giáo, chính trị, đạo đức và phương cách sống.

Một thiên thần hộ mệnh sau khi đọc rất nhiều sách một cách lén lút và khá là phá hoại, đã quyết định nổi loạn chống lại Chúa Trời. Từ ý tứ đó một thiên sử thi về tội lỗi, dục vọng và cách tác giả đôi khi cực đoan bài xích, chỉ trích Cơ Đốc giáo để tôn vinh sự ham hiểu biết, thái độ hiếu kì đối với cuộc sống như một yếu tố cần thiết để xây dựng một xã hội tốt đẹp.

Thiên thần thì cũng có đầy dục vọng thôi, "nên đàn bà, khi đi nhà thờ, thì nhớ đeo mạng che mặt".