Occupation Trilogy: La Place de l'Étoile – The Night Watch – Ring Roads

Nobel Prize laureate Patrick Modiano's initial trilogy of novels, centered on Paris during the Nazi occupation, is now available in a consolidated edition. These seminal works mark Modiano's debut on the Paris literary scene during the tumultuous aftermath of World War II.

Modiano, born just after the war's end and honored with the Nobel Prize in 2014, was in his twenties when he made a significant impact with these three powerful novels. They delve deeply into the complexities and scars left by the wartime occupation of Paris.

The first novel, "La Place de l'Étoile," now presented in English for the first time, opens with a poignant epigraph that sets the tone: "In June 1942, a German officer approaches a young man and asks, 'Excuse me, monsieur, where is La Place de l'Étoile?' The young man points to the star on his chest." This novel stands among the earliest to confront the issue of Nazi collaboration in France seriously.

"The Night Watch," the second installment, narrates the gripping tale of a young man entangled in dual identities—working for both the French Gestapo and a Resistance cell, while also navigating the murky world of black marketeers.

In "Ring Roads," the trilogy's concluding novel, a son embarks on a quest to find his Jewish father who vanished a decade earlier. His search leads him to discover his father amidst the chaos of war, serving under dubious characters in a bid for survival.

Collectively, these three novels offer vivid, almost surreal portrayals of life during the Occupation, aiming to confront and reconcile with the past. They explore the morally ambiguous realms of collaboration and resistance with a narrative intensity that remains compelling.

Translator Frank Wynne, acclaimed for his literary translations, has meticulously revised the English versions of "The Night Watch" and "Ring Roads," which had long been out of print. His translation of "La Place de l'Étoile" marks its debut in English, making the trilogy accessible to a broader audience.

"The Occupation Trilogy" serves as an ideal introduction to the work of one of the world's most esteemed authors. Patrick Modiano's exploration of memory, identity, and historical reckoning resonates profoundly, offering readers a poignant glimpse into a pivotal period in Parisian and European history.

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