L'épaulette: Souvenirs d'un officier

The narrator spends his childhood listening to the larger‑than‑life recollections of Colonel Gabarrot, a ninety‑year‑old veteran whose voice still carries the clatter of sabres and the roar of cannon. The colonel spins vivid, often ribald portraits of the Napoleonic wars—crude jokes about Russians, Prussians and the English, fierce battles in Italy and Crimea, and the bitter betrayals that still sting. His stories are laced with bravado, bravura, and an unmistakable nostalgia for a world where honor was measured by the number of enemies felled.

Beyond the battlefield, the memoir reveals the colonel’s eccentric daily habits and his startling presence in a modest household. He refuses ordinary utensils, opting for a rough earthen bowl, and his fierce demeanor both terrifies and fascinates the family, especially the narrator’s mother. As the recollections unfold, listeners glimpse a man who embodies France’s tumultuous past while still grappling with the quiet aftermath of a life lived on the edge of history.