Perret, Jacques

(1901-1992)

   writer, Resistance fighter

   Born in Troppes, Seine-et-Oise, Jacques Perret, after spending some adventurous years in Guyana and in the United States (which inspired his exciting Histoires sous le vent, 1944), returned to France and made his debut as a novelist with Roucou (1936), followed by Ernest le Rebelle in 1937. Called to the military in 1939, he was taken prisoner, escaped then joined the resistance in the maquis (underground). in the guise of a novel, he recalls his life as a prisoner and his attempts to escape (Le Caporal épinglé, 1947) and his experiences as a Resistance fighter (Bande à part, 1951), in which he realistically describes the day-to-day existence living among men who were neither heroes nor villains, but just ordinary individuals. This sensitive and amusing work was followed by other stories and accounts.