Introducing the Book Journey to the End of the Night

Journey to the End of the Night, the masterpiece of French writer Louis-Ferdinand Céline, is the story of the wretchedness of living in the world. It is the story of human beings like us who live in a space filled with lies and disloyalty, poverty and misery, war and death, and still continue to do so in order to reap more suffering. Céline narrates, honestly and bluntly, the deceptive relationships of human beings in an indifferent world—a world whose end is death. The heroes of the book are the poor and the homeless, lacking social standing and, of course, all base and vile. Also, one of the main themes of the novel is opposition to war. Perhaps this is why it carries the title of "forbidden book" (in Iran, at least).

Excerpts from the book:

« I told myself, I wish Mother Homeland, whom they've talked so much about, were here and could explain to me what the hell one is supposed to do when a bullet buries itself right in the middle of your gut. » « Behind every music, one must try to hear that melody without notes that has been composed for us, the melody of Death. » « The rich don't have to kill to earn their bread. As they say, they put people to work. They don't harm anyone. They pay. Everyone does everything to please them, and everyone is content. They have alluring women, while the women of the poor are all ugly. Setting aside their chit-chat, one could say this is the result of centuries. » « We can grow old with peace of mind! Was death a scalding soup yesterday? Or last year, for instance? ... Do you think otherwise? ... What should we regret? ... Huh? Youth? ... We were never young! ... »

Bibliography: Journey to the End of the Night / Louis-Ferdinand Céline / Farhad Ghabraei / Jami Publications