"It is submission," said Rediger softly. "The subversive and simple idea, which until then had never been expressed with such force, that the pinnacle of human happiness lies in absolute submission."

In a France quite close to today's, a man follows an academic career. Teaching interests him very little, he expects a boring but peaceful life, away from major historical events. However, the forces at work in the country have fractured the political system, ultimately leading to its collapse. This internal rupture without upheavals, without a true revolution, unfolds like a nightmare.

The author's talent, his visionary power, draw us into an ambiguous and slippery ground; his gaze on our aging civilization makes poetic insights, comic scenes, and a fatalistic melancholy coexist in this novel.
A fascinating political and moral myth.