Alfa Ndiaye

Alfa is the narrator and protagonist of Diop's novel. The novel begins with the death of his childhood best friend, Mademba. This tragedy is the catalyst for Alfa's character development and the central event around which the story orbits. Alfa is tortured because at the moment of his death on the battlefield of World War I, Mademba begs Alfa to slit his throat and end his pain, but Alfa faltered and cannot bear to kill his friend "in the name of who knows what human laws" (7). As the novel progresses, Alfa learns to think for himself, transcend the bounds of human law, and see the war and human institutions for what they really are.

Alfa struggles with the guilt of Mademba's gruesome death, and begins a macabre ritual of seeking out German soldiers, slicing open their bellies, thens slitting their throats, bringing back a severed hand to...