I picked up this book on the recommendation of Judge Richard Posner. (It wasn’t a personal recommendation. I heard him mention the book when he was in a panel discussion.) Posner’s recommendation came from his idea that literature had a lot to tell us about the law. And Arch of Triumph had a lot to say about the plight of asylum-seekers in a new country. At the time, I was preparing for oral argument in an asylum case, and thought it would be an interesting read.
The entire book focuses on Ravic, a displaced and well-accomplished German surgeon who is living in Paris during the Second World War. He makes a living—underground, of course—by performing surgeries for two French surgeons who are less qualified and without enough scruples to care that Ravic is unable to work legally. Ravic is a superior surgeon and they give him a small percentage of their fees to do the work.
Despite being able to pursue his livelihood, Ravic lives in constant fear of being found out and deported to Germany. Indeed, he had gone through that process a few times before we come upon him in the novel. During the novel, he is sent to Switzerland after helping an accident victim on the street and being found out by the police. But he always returned, eager to pick up the pieces of a shattered life without any clear direction or foundation. (more…)
