The Blood of Others

A novel set in occupied France during the Second World War. A man waits beside a wounded friend and looks back on his life, his privileged youth, his political commitments and his relationship with a young woman. Through his memories the book asks how far one person is responsible for the lives of others, and whether staying out of harm's way is itself a choice. Written soon after the war, it is a clear example of existentialist fiction, joining personal drama to moral questions raised by resistance.