[All Malraux's] novels, with the possible exception of La Voie royale, are set in contemporary history, telling of revolution and war. Malraux seems to rival the news reporter, indeed he uses reportage techniques. Incidents and scenes are dated: 5 June Shanghai, Madrid, Teruel, Guadalajara and so on. (p. 10)

The detail and the march of events may prove confusing at first reading—and this has been seen as a weakness in Malraux's narrative technique. He is not concerned with reporting or history; though some of the events happened, the actors are imagined and the testimony is not that of the eyewitness but of the analyst. While it has been said that Malraux's story offers the best account of the 'feel' of the Civil War, this can be true only for one side and for the early days of the campaign. In fact the matter of the novel is invention based...