ABSTRACT
Daniel Zimmermann wrote twenty-four novels, short-story collections, biographies, and autobiographical memoirs, but for most French readers he is the author of Nouvelles de la zone interdite, a volume of hard-hitting narratives based on his experiences as a foot soldier in the Algerian war. News from this "war zone" or "no-man's land" is not for the weak-hearted. The author describes torture, suicide, executions, and cruel perversions. Other stories relate ambiguous "accidents," such as when a French infantryman is shot by his comrades. One ironic narrative depicts a soldier—a Communist in civilian life—trapping an Algerian fighter, then throwing a grenade at him because he cannot stand the political slogans that the fellagha defiantly shouts back. The first version of this harrowing book was entitled 80 exercises en zone interdite. Revised editions appeared in 1988 and 1996. By the end of his life, Zimmermann had still not recovered from his nightmares.
