In his Goncourt Prize-winning novel, Jean Rouaud unravels old stories recalled by three successive deaths in a family. First, the death of the father, a tragic starting point; then,
the departure of Aunt Marie, notoriously stubborn, and then of Grandpa, kamikaze diving in his antique 2CV.

In the middle of all three is our nameless, ageless narrator, who ties them all together... Locked up at home in the rainy, foggy weather of the Loire and rummaging through drawers, letters, photographs and even a gold denture suddenly transport the reader back decades.

Dots from the poignant life of an ordinary family are pieced together to complete the picture. Battlefields shows how personal histories and the great History are intertwined.
a sad novel that shows the passing of time. "Jean Rouaud deftly moves his pen and weaves together the threads that connect everyday details and big events, grief and joy, faith and despair."

Boston Globe