Owl hoot

FIRST EDITION. One of 55 deluxe copies numbered on Madagascar paper.

Cri de la chouette(The Owl's Cry), published in 1972, is the third and final volume of Hervé Bazin's autobiographical trilogy, following Vipère au poing(Viper in the Fist) (1948) and La Mort du petit cheval(The Death of the Little Horse) (1950).

Twenty-five years after the events of Viper in the Fist, Jean Rezeau, the narrator, is a widower and has rebuilt his life with Bertille. He lives with his children and his new wife's daughter. But the family's tranquility is shattered by the arrival of Folcoche, Jean's tyrannical mother, who emerges from her retirement after years of silence. Folcoche, still as manipulative and shrewish as ever, moves in with her son and sows discord among the family members. Her return revives painful memories for Jean and confronts him with his tumultuous past.