3.5
Four Soldiers
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesFour Soldiers Reviews
3.5
Ace
Created 3 months agoShare
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“Rating: 4/5
Four Soldiers by Hubert Mingarelli follows four Red Army Soldiers (Pavel, Kyabine, Sifra, and the Narrator) as they are granted a brief break from the front linesspend a short peaceful moment in the summer together within a forest encampment. The company bond through their simple routines and quiet moments of companionship whilst the threat of returning to war looms over their sanctuary.
May contains spoilers
Characters
The Narrator
We never learn the Narrator’s name however he is the lens we see the story through and what he says throughout shapes our outlook on the entire story.
The majority of the time with the Narrator is spent quietly observing others, taking note of people’s habits and gestures even if they’re small details, he notices. It’s the small details like these that remind us even in times of war these Soldiers are still human and that despite fighting, they still try to preserve what humanity they have left even if they don’t notice it. The Narrator does. However, through this we can tell he prefers the quiet sense of order everything creates rather than the chaotic atmosphere the war forces into their lives.
Friendships are a massive part of this book and to the Narrator himself. The company itself is continuously marked for death yet The Narrator still remains yearning for intimacy and stability with any form of friendship he can get his hands on. Yet the most noticeable friendship he gains is the one with Pavel.
Pavel and The Narrator is closest friendship within the entire company. The deep bond these two share is mainly based upon The Narrator’s care for Pavel and how he is in ways careful around him, especially after Pavel began having nightmares about Sifra. Yet this isn’t a bad thing, no it shows that The Narrator is scared to loose the friends around him that he's made during the war through the smallest of mishaps, even if it's not his fault (aka thinking he'll take Sifra's place in Pavel's dream).
Pavel
Pavel is one of the only characters to not base their actions solely on their emotions, instead he's more emotionally reserved whilst keeping his opinions to himself. This is a massive contrast to Kyabine where Pavel hardly speaks unless its necessary whilst revealing barely little of himself.
We only learn Pavel's past through what the Narrator tells us about him yet despite it not being much, we can still decipher that his current favour of silence and solitude may be caused by some form of trauma that Pavel faced. This would make sense saying he is reserved to himself, possibly from some damage where he can find comfort in self-isolation. Yet this is backed up through how often Pavel goes around by himself foraging or just wandering the forest to the lake by himself.
Through Pavel's solitude at the beginning of the book, we get introduced to how there is an unspoken bond of trust between him and the Narrator. Overtime Pavel begins to allow The Narrator to accompany him during his walks at night, slowly warming up to him and becoming open about things he previously kept to himself. yet with the rest of the Company, they simply accept Pavel's actions as normal rather than concerning.
I'm assuming Pavel is written this way to embody the toll of war can take on someone's psychological state due to how he caved in on himself to the point he begins to feel as he can only rely on himself at the start. With the quick and close friendship he forms with the Narrator, it subtly shows how healing companionship can be even if its a brief period of time. Either way it provides Pavel with hope that influences his ability to trust people.
Kyabine
Kyabine at first glance is the strong, loud, blunt, comic relief character all serious books has. He willingly throws himself into working with the company with enthusiasm through jokes and mockery of his companions, whilst favouring physical tasks with pride. He's always in some way or another keeping himself busy.
He can become easily attached to things, proven by the image of the woman in the watch the group shares at night. Often seen begging to spend another night with it or to kiss the picture passionately, wishing it was his own lover. Yet the rest of the group often mock Kyabine for this affection he gives the inanimate object. I feel as if this is done to show how much Kyabine acts upon emotion rather than thinking everything through before hand. Perhaps, to coverup a hint of vulnerability he way have.
You can tell Kyabine often acts on emotion with how protective he is of his group, positioning himself as a older figure who's sole purpose is to look after the ones they love.
Sifra
Sifra is more sociable than Pavel yet less attention seeking than Kyabine. He's the middle ground between the two, speaking more than necessary but not constantly to the point it becomes annoying.
He isn't the most expressive of the group, that title belongs to Kyabine, Sifra showcases a stability that most of the group doesn't have regards to their mental state. By taking on matters that are practical and maintains order he is often understanding whilst providing nonverbal support to the group, assisting in physical and mental strength of everyone.
Sifra picks the simple tasks that people often overthink about: cooking, maintaining their shelter. His willingness to take over the basic chores show that without anyone knowing it, Sifra has started to ground the people around him, keeping them in line with reality.
Sifra is probably the most emotionally intelligent of the group, by being able to read the moods of the others and respond with simple, supportive gestures. He rarely speaks in large amounts, but his consistency and empathy make him a stabilising force.
Conclusion
Four soldiers is a novel i didn’t mean to pick up and read, yet the powerful bonds of brotherhood portrayed is so impactful amongst the chaos of the Russian Civil War that i was so intrigued to the point i couldn’t put it down.”
Sam Schultz
Created 4 months agoShare
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Delilah 🪷🥀
Created 9 months agoShare
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“This was such a short but wonderful read! The writing is simple yet powerful and even though it was under 200 pages it had me attached to the characters and left me emotional by the ending. Will definitely read it again!”
Ian Murray
Created 11 months agoShare
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maryam abbaszadeh
Created 12 months agoShare
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About Hubert Mingarelli
is the author of numerous novels and short story collections, as well as fiction for young adults. His novel
was shortlisted for the 2014 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize and was selected by Indies Introduce in the United States. He lives in Grenoble.
(translator) is an acclaimed translator and novelist who lives in Texas. His translations include
by Hubert Mingarelli (The New Press),
by Jean Echenoz (The New Press), The Arab of the Future by Riad Sattouf, and the award-winning HHhH by Lauren Binet.
Other books by Hubert Mingarelli
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