What Is Left of the Night: A World War II Novel
The story of André Trocmé, pastor of a small village in southeastern France during the Second World War, is well known. He and his wife organized the people of his parish to save the lives of thousands of people, mostly Jewish children, by helping them escape occupied France for the safety of Switzerland. This novel is a fictionalized version of that story.
Alongside a female American spy (a historical figure) being pursued by a vengeful Gestapo officer, fictional characters include nuns who assist the Protestant pastor to establish an underground railroad to help Jewish families escape deportation to death camps. Also apparently fiction are the meetings and discussions between Trocmé and philosopher Albert Camus. The story builds to a climax as the Gestapo officer closes in on the American spy.
With a story as powerful and full of potential danger as that of André and Magda Trocmé, it is hard to understand why it was necessary to include an American spy; the Gestapo officer’s obsession with catching up with her distracts from the main story. The inclusion of Camus can be understood as it offers opportunities for discussion of the themes of personal faith and pacifism, which are also developed very fully throughout in sermons and in the questioning of parishioners.
Written by an Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology, this novel will appeal to readers of evangelical works.
