Literature against oblivion. The true story of the only pied noir executed by the French government during the Algerian war.

Algiers, 1956. Fernand Iveton, a thirty-year-old communist worker, decides to show his support for the FLN's independence cause against France by placing a bomb. Iveton's peculiarity is that he is a pied noir, that is, a white Frenchman born in Algeria, and this group was then massively on the side of the colonial government.

The bomb, strategically placed in a place where it could not cause injuries or casualties, is deactivated before it explodes, and the activist ends up arrested. He is interrogated, tortured and sentenced to death. His lawyers ask for clemency from the highest authorities, among others from the Minister of Justice at the time, who is the future president François Mitterrand. But forgiveness does not come, and Iveton will become the only pied noir executed by the French government during the long Algerian war.

At the time, the case shocked public opinion: was Iveton a hero or a terrorist? An idealist or a criminal? A champion of freedom against colonialism or a traitor to his country? Using the tools of a novelistic narrative, the book reconstructs the true story of the protagonist: the failed attack, the arrest, the trial, but also Iveton's childhood, his relationship with his beloved Hélène, his ideals of social justice... Literature repairs an injustice. Literature rescues from oblivion a human being whose name was diluted among the many victims of a bloody war.

"A communiqué against the horrors committed by France in Algeria, written in a dry style that nevertheless transmits contagious emotion" (Emily Barnett, Grazia).

"A text against state propaganda and against the oblivion of history. The author contrasts them with his vibrant and sombre lyricism, and the strength of his prose» (Raphaëlle Leyris, Le Monde).

«A beautiful and sombre narrative, very brief and with a restrained lyricism» (Julie Clarini, France Musique).

«A very beautiful first novel, with a writing that is at once classical and harsh» (Sean James Rose, Livres Hebdo).

«A beautiful literary work… Of impressive effectiveness, its realism is served by a precise language, without flourishes… Joseph Andras has written an impeccable first novel» (Christophe Kantcheff, Le Figaro).

«The story of a young idealist that Joseph Andras tells with talent and impetus is a novel that impacts» (Marianne Payot, L’Express).

“A stark and moving account of an arrest, trial and execution… Andras’s bleak account is lifted by passages of vibrant lyricism” (Laura Garmeson, Times Literary Supplement).

“Deeply moving… An admirable book” (The Morning Star).

“Powerful” (Boyd Tonkin, Spectator).