Military fortifications can decay into domestic squalor amid wartime idleness

Evidence

The bizarre coupling of this prehistoric mastaba with a ramshackle suburban cottage, surrounded by such hobo’s bric-a-brac in the heart of the forest, had something perfectly improbable about it. — Julien Gracq, Balcony in the Forest, 45

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Julien Gracq, Balcony in the Forest, 45
• XREF: connects to: Soldiers can experience wartime as sheltered idyll rather than danger — Julien Gracq, Balcony in the Forest, 47; A stagnant border war can turn a military force into a settled colony — Julien Gracq, Balcony in the Forest, 274; Prolonged inactive war breeds a parasitic idle military caste on civilians — Julien Gracq, Balcony in the Forest, 275 (+2 more)

Library Connections

• Fortified defense lines can decay into near-total unreadiness through neglect #corroborates (0.85) — Julien Gracq, Balcony in the Forest, 244

Broader Connections

• War degrades landscapes before any fighting actually occurs there #qualifies (0.72) — Julien Gracq, Balcony in the Forest, 28