Jérôme Ferrari's 'Où j'ai laissé mon âme' Confronts French Torture in Algeria

Jérôme Ferrari's fourth novel, 'Où j'ai laissé mon âme' (Actes Sud, 2010), delves into the French army's torture practices during the Algerian War, a subject long shrouded in silence. The narrative spans three days in March 1957, focusing on two officers, Lieutenant Horace Andreani and Captain André Degorce, who previously endured horrors together at Dien Bien Phu. Now, they have become perpetrators. Degorce, a survivor of Nazi and Viet Minh camps and a devout believer, struggles with the abjection and indignity inflicted on prisoners, while Andreani justifies atrocities as necessary for victory, driven by 'loyalty.' The novel is framed by Andreani's monologue addressing Degorce, revealing his troubled love for him and the impossibility of forgetting the irreparable. Ferrari refrains from moral judgment, leaving the reader unsettled. The book follows recent works by writers like Mauvignier ('Des hommes') breaking the silence on this dark chapter.