33 Days

Praise

“The riveting 33 Days, now in its first English translation, proves that the author was no mere footnote.”
—New York Magazine

“[Werth is] a sharp-eyed witness to the chaotic exodus… The reunion was worth waiting for.”
—The Atlantic

“A searing chronicle of France’s 1940 exodus…A publishing event in its own right; and almost certainly the best eye witness account of l’Exode.”
—Nick Lezard, The Guardian (UK)

“Genius… Lyrical yet brutally descriptive… The real suspense here is in the tension between the absolutely trivial and the absolutely terrible—a tension powerful enough to sustain the entirety of this important memoir.”
—Jewish Book Council

“33 Days, admirably translated by Austin Denis Johnston, is a beautifully written portrait not just of the shock of sudden occupation, but an eloquent essay on the meaning of how to remain human, even in the face of such confusing adversity.”
—Times Literary Supplement (UK)

“Riveting…masterful… Werth’s short book – fast-paced, engaging and philosophical all at once – offers an astonishingly honest and perceptive expression of life under occupation.”
—PopMatters, 9 out of 10 stars

“With its gentle prose, the narrator’s constant questioning and occasional humour, 33 Days is a valuable record of the those fleeing Paris and a subtle yet fierce inquiry as to what it means to be occupied.”
—3:AM Magazine

“With nothing to steady oneself in this moment of complete upheaval, at least the reader has Werth’s intellectual honesty, precision of observation, and sensitivity to particularity… This is the skill of a writer…that can, in unusual circumstances, turn an author into a necessary interpreter of an increasingly unfathomable world.”
—Cleaver

“Extraordinary… An invaluable document of history as well as a riveting literary narrative.”
—Kirkus Reviews