Troubled Sleep by Jean-Paul Sartre. Short summary

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In June 1940, Mathieu finds himself in Nazi-occupied Paris. He realizes that his personal freedom is imaginary. His friend, Gomez de Brunet, experiences a reassessment of values.

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The 3rd novel of the «Roads of Freedom» tetralogy. June 1940 Hitler’s Germany «ate» Czechoslovakia, and the USSR together with it Poland. Alsace and Lorraine welcome the invaders.

And France keeps writing petitions to prevent the war. And now the Germans are in Paris.

In this setting, the protagonist, the teacher Mathieu, is no longer able to cherish his personal freedom, believing it to be empty. He understands that he can be free only when he does something for the common cause. This realization leads him to take an active part in the Resistance.

A parallel storyline develops about Gomez de Brun, communist and comrade Mathieu. He finds himself in a POW camp. He does not know how his fate will turn out. This uncertainty causes him to reassess his life values.