Under the Sun of Satan

Georges Bernanos · 1888–1948 · France

Originally Sous le soleil de Satan (French)

Why it matters

A tormented country priest wrestles the devil in the flesh and stakes his soul on saving a suicidal young woman. Bernanos's ferocious debut, the origin of the spiritual anguish he refined in Diary of a Country Priest.

At a glance

Dense theological argument carried by feverish, visionary prose.