"Much of The Deserters’ allure is its language—in a virtuosic translation by Charlotte Mandell—but equally compelling is the challenge the novel presents; one can’t help oneself from trying to decipher the relationship between the two plotlines, wondering what revelation from one story shines light on the other."

— Asymptote

"In Charlotte Mandell’s translation from the French, the melding of themes is reproduced on the level of the language, which shifts from crisp scholarly exposition to vivid poetic fragments. Synthesizing so many ideas and styles is customary for this brilliant author, his formal skill and provocative intelligence remain well worth the encounter."

— The Wall Street Journal

“A more intense realization of the horrors of the Great War has never been written.”

— Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker

“Céline’s furious style is in full force, and is well served by the brevity of the text. Devoted fans will rejoice.”

— Publishers Weekly

“Mandell deftly captures Celine’s tone and rhythm while preserving the eccentricities that made him such a singular stylist.”

— Jim Knipfel, Truthdig

“For all its sandstorm of scholarship, translated with tireless eloquence by Charlotte Mandell, Compass aches with…simple yearning.”

—The Economist