Fiction-In Translation-French
By Vincent Delecroix. Translated from the original French by Helen Stevenson
2025
Delecroix’s choice of the naval officer as the protagonist of this work is a refreshingly intelligent one as it simultaneously hooks the reader—who is now keen to understand the rationale behind the narrator’s actions which have been largely interpreted as monstrous—and also opens up other critical and reflexive possibilities. Contrary to our expectations, the narrator does not accede to responsibility for the migrant deaths or express guilt of any kind. She defends her attitude and actions on multiple grounds including the objective and logical disposition which her professional training as a naval officer demands, and other technical arguments such as that the migrants were in the English territorial waters and not that of the French when the boat capsized.