Journey to the End of the Night

Journey to the End of the Night is a modernist novel by Louis-Ferdinand Céline, first published in the French language in 1932 by Parisian publishing house Éditions Denoël et Steele. It is a semi-autobiographical work centered on the life and travels of cynical antihero Ferdinand Bardamu, set over several decades of Bardamu’s life, beginning at the outbreak of World War I. The novel became influential in the development of post–WWI literary modernism, but like many such touchstones, it was initially dismissed by much of the critical establishment. While there is no explicitly antisemitic material in Journey to the End of the Night, Céline’s later writings were often virulently antisemitic, and he aligned himself with the collaborationist Vichy regime in Nazi-occupied France. As a result, the author’s legacy has become controversial.

This guide uses the 1988 John Calder edition, translated into English by Ralph Manheim.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide discuss racism, pregnancy termination, mental illness, illness, and death.

Plot Summary

When the novel opens, Ferdinand Bardamu is a student of medicine in Paris. Despite his political leanings, he is moved by the pageantry of a military parade and decides to enlist in the French army. At the front, Ferdinand assumes the post of a runner, and the seemingly pointless brutality of the war quickly disabuses him of his momentary nationalism.