The Solitude of Compassion

The Solitude of Compassion paints a glorious portrait of small-town life in Provence, drawing on one village's cast of characters: the priest, the shepherds, the cafe regulars and its owner - radiant, wise, and decent, at times immoral and coarse, occasionally visionary. Giono writes of a friendship forged in a battlefield trench in the midst of World War I; of an old man's discovery of the transcendent song of the world; of the profound connection between man and beast; of human compassion; and of what lies beyond. Every inch of Giono's Provence breathes and glows with life in these twenty interlinked stories. His feeling for the human condition and almost uncanny connection to the land pours out of his lyrical prose, whether recreating the odor of the earth damp with fresh blood, the voice of the wind, or a man's private language when speaking to a wounded bird.