by David Diop
First published 2019
Alfa Ndiaye finds himself far from Senegal, trapped in French army trenches during World War I. His closest friend Mademba Diop fights beside him in the same regiment until enemy fire wounds him beyond recovery. As Mademba bleeds out, he begs Alfa to end his suffering quickly. Alfa cannot bring himself to kill his friend. After Mademba dies, grief transforms into something darker. Night after night, Alfa crawls toward enemy lines. He selects German soldiers one by one, killing each with the same type of wound that claimed Mademba. Then he cuts off their hands and carries them back as grisly souvenirs. This ritual becomes his way of honoring his friend's memory while channeling his rage at a war that treats colonial soldiers as expendable. Alfa's nightly hunts reveal how violence begets violence, and how the bonds between brothers can survive even in the machinery of industrial warfare.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, african-literature, war
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Senegal, France
Period: World War I
156 pages · Paperback · Anagrama
Content warnings: death, graphic-violence, war