French novelist David Diop’s book Frère d’âme, published in 2018, showcased narratives of war that were a lot less explored. Through the characters of two Senegalese officers enlisted in World War I, the contemporary title dove into the perspectives of black soldiers stationed in a foreign land, fighting a war that wasn’t theirs. Released around the time of the 100th anniversary of the formal end of the first war, the book went on to win the coveted Prix Goncourt des Lycéens the same year. More recently, the English translation of the title by Anna Moscovakhis won the 2021 International Booker Prize, making Diop the first French author to win the award.

The monument to the heroes of the black army, or Monument aux heros de l’Armee noire, in France