Kate Conley, Edward Tuck Professor of French and Comparative Literature
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Genre
This novel is about men from a small French town who fought in the Algerian war for independence in the 1960s. They were ill equipped and didn't feel like soldiers, but simply like des hommes - "some men." Forty years later, the after-effects of their war experience have been devastating for them. This novel is very sad but beautifully written. It was published in France in the fall, and I imagine it'll eventually be translated into English, like some of Mauvignier's other novels.