La Face

Pierre Boulle’s third novel, La Face, was long forgotten until a recent reissue by Julliard in 2008. It is a dark, relentless psychological chamber piece, combining moral introspection with social observation. The hero, a public prosecutor, witnesses a young woman’s accidental drowning without intervening. Consumed by guilt, his conscience is eased when the investigation turns to a convenient suspect, though he knows the man is innocent.

A novel of remorse, it marks an important and personal stage in Boulle’s work at a pivotal moment in his career: he had just published Le Pont de la rivière Kwaï (and would soon embark on La Planète des singes).

A rare and profoundly existential text, best read as a portrait of ordinary cowardice, in the tradition of Simenon’s novels.