Lyrical and radical, a debut novel that created a sensation in FranceWinner of the Prix Goncourtfor first novel, one of the most prestigious literary awards in FranceA young revolutionary plants a bomb in a factory on the outskirts of Algiers during the Algerian War. The bomb istimed to explode after work hours, so no one will be hurt. But the authorities have been watching. He is caught, thebomb is defused, and he is tortured, tried in a day,condemned to death, and thrown into a cell to await theguillotine. A routine event, perhaps, in a brutal conflict that ended the lives of more than a millionMuslimAlgerians.But what if the militant is a �pied-noir�? What if his loverwas a member of the French Resistance? What happensto a �European� who chooses the side of anti-colonialism?By turns lyrical, meditative, and heart-stoppingly suspenseful, this novel by Joseph Andras, based on a true story,was a literary and political sensation in France, winning the Prix Goncourt for First Novel and being acclaimed byLe Monde as �vibrantly lyrical and somber� and by the journal La Croix as a �masterpiece�.