The Deserters by Mathias Enard follows two interconnected narratives shaped by war and memory. One story centres on a soldier fleeing an unnamed war in the Mediterranean landscape, questioning the value of life and his own choices. The other takes place on 11 September 2001 during a conference near Berlin honouring Paul Heudeber, an East German mathematician and former concentration camp survivor. Through these parallel stories, the novel reflects on themes such as war, loyalty, truth, and betrayal, revealing how conflict deeply affects human identity and personal lives.
Mathias Enard, born in 1972, studied Persian and Arabic and spent many years in the Middle East. His novel Zone received several major awards, including the Prix du Livre Inter and the Prix Décembre. His book Street of Thieves also won multiple prizes such as the Liste Goncourt/Le Choix de l’Orient, the Prix littéraire de la Porte Dorée, and the Prix du Roman-News. Enard later won the prestigious Prix Goncourt in 2015, the Leipziger Book Award for European Understanding in 2017, and the Premio Gregor von Rezzori. His novel Compass was also shortlisted for the 2017 International Booker Prize.
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