First published in French on August 16, 2018, by Éditions du Seuil, it won the Prix Goncourt des Lycéens that same year.

[3] Alfa Ndiaye and his adopted brother Mademba Diop are Senegalese Tirailleurs fighting in World War I.

The narrative abruptly shifts to recount a Senegalese story about a fickle princess and a sorcerer without scars.

[4] Le Monde viewed it as a subversive story endowed with "undeniable literary qualities", appropriately published in time for the centenary of the armistice that ended the war.

[8][9] Anna Branach-Kallas argued that the novel commemorates the contribution of African French Army soldiers in the First World War by stressing their vulnerability and their traumatic transformation on the front lines.

[10] Mehrul Bari in The Daily Star wrote, "One can find here the classic idiosyncrasies of African stories—the charms, the wisdoms—most noticeably in the characterisation of Alfa, who resembles heroic, boastful narrators like The Palm-Wine Drinkard's, who are casually able to perform fantastical feats without a second thought.