"Residential Quarter" ["Les Beaux Quartiers"] is the second novel in [Aragon's] projected series. It is longer and more unified and far more exciting than "The Bells of Basel."…

The general theme is the social struggles and political intrigues that preceded the World War….

In this novel there are types of writing that Aragon does supremely well—for example, satire of the middle class in its own language, lyrical apostrophes to Paris and its workers, outright melodrama. There are scenes that he describes more vividly than any other living French novelist—for example, the markets at night, the homeless men sleeping under the bridges, the telephone call to the chief of police that leads to a raid on a gambling club. There are emotions that he excels in rendering—for example, sensual love, family hatreds and hysterias, violence bursting out of everyday life. Because of his skill in these...