Frank Giroud (1956–2018)

This is the first book in a series of 10 volumes about Nahik, a lost manuscript, and the lives of the people who have come across it. The beginning of the story of an exceptional and sacred bibliographical treasure, which ensures the transition between episodes.

In common, the different volumes share narrative proficiency, thriller and suspense rhetoric, but above all, and at the heart of the argument, the irresolvable paradox: if Nahik holds the essential commandments, foundations of peace, show more love and humanity, why does it sow destruction? Is Nahik a sacred manuscript or a cursed text?

When a mysterious manuscript reaches Simon Broemecke, the editorial director pays little or no attention to it. However, in the wake of a sudden tragedy, right outside his office, he feels guilty for the condescension with which he had treated the victim minutes before and decides, therefore, to give Nahik a chance.

Motivated by his love for Gwen, who despises his inertia and makes a point of amusingly asserting his disbelief in his literary skills, Simon is determined to read the manuscript for the first time, in which he finds the opportunity to become an excellent translator. However, among a series of misunderstandings, his translation is edited as an original, and suddenly Broemecke is considered the writer of the century.

With fame, comes responsibility. Above all, keeping a terrible secret, a task made difficult by the appearance of one Moorland, descendant of the true author of Nahik. Simon is then placed between the sword and the wall and, in an act of desperation, takes advantage of the existence of a serial killer, still at large, to get rid of what torments him. The command in volume 1, “Thou shalt not kill,” is inevitably and predictably broken.

With a brilliant premise, volume 1 easily captivates and makes us empathize with the characters and even pray for a happy ending, even though we feel and almost certainly know we will never come across it. show less

Un thriller muy bien construido con dos tramas paralelas que convergen en un final excelente.

A slow, steady, undramatic story about a team of French soldiers searching for a missing commando unit in the wilds of Kabylia during the Algerian War. The soldiers are from the Section Administrative Spécialisée, that hybrid civil-military group which had the admirable job of supporting local Muslim populations by setting up hospitals, building schools etc. So we are seeing the good side of the French military here; but even so, Giroud takes care to show us plenty of soldierly brutality show more and callousness as well. Lax's artwork is excellent, ranging confidently from vast, ochreous landscapes to focused details of 1950s clothing, Berber villages, political fliers stuck to walls and so on.

The story was originally released in two parts, of which the first won the critics' prize at Angoulême in 1999. This collected edition is followed by a long and interesting essay by Giroud about his father, who fought in the war himself; and many details of Azrayen’, including its powerful closing lines, are taken from his letters. show less

Un thriller muy bien construido con dos tramas paralelas que convergen en un final excelente.