Aux Animaux la Guerre

Aux Animaux la Guerre
Of Fangs and Talons
AuthorNicolas Mathieu
TranslatorSam Taylor
LanguageFrench
SubjectDeindustrialization, social tension, crime, gangsters
GenreLiterary fiction, Crime fiction, Noir fiction, mystery fiction
Set inVosges
PublisherActes Sud, Hodder & Stoughton
Publication date5 March 2014
Published in English
5 August 2021
Pages368
AwardsPrix Erckmann-Chatrian 2014, Prix Mystère de la critique 2015
ISBN978-1-5293-3159-2
OCLC1259508933

Aux Animaux la Guerre is the first novel of Nicolas Mathieu. Published by Actes Noirs, the noir division of Actes Sud,[1] in 2014, it has won four awards, has been translated into English by Sam Taylor (under the title Of Fangs And Talons) and was adapted for a six-episode French television series.[2]

Synopsis

Velocia, the last remaining automotive subcontractor in a Vosges valley town hit by deindustrialization, closes its factory, to the despair of the workers and the disdain of the trade union. Martel, a trade union representative, is promoted to secretary of the works council. With the factory threatened with closure, Martel crosses paths with Rita, a bereaved and combative labor inspector, and teams up with Bruce, a muscular and drug-addicted colleague, to try and make ends meet. He resorts to crime in a plot that escalates into a kidnapping.[3]

Awards

Critical reception

Reviewing the English translation, Laura Wilson of The Guardian (UK) noted the novel's "bleakly uncompromising portrait of working-class life"[9] She also praised Mathieu's style as "powerful and compelling."[9]

Editions

  • Aux animaux la guerre, Actes Sud, Collection Actes noirs, 2014. ISBN 978-2-330-03037-7
  • Aux animaux la guerre. Collection Babel Noir, Number 147, p.444-448. 6 January 2016. ISBN 978-2-330-05864-7
  • Of Fangs and Talons, Hodder & Stoughton, 5 August 2021. English translation by Sam Taylor. ISBN 9781529331592

Adaptation

France 3 bought the audiovisual rights to the novel,[10] then distributed a television series adapted from it and under the same name for one season (six episodes)[2] in November 2018, the same month and year that Mathieu was selected by the Académie Française for the Prix Goncourt.[3] The show was directed by Alain Tasma and written by Tasma and the author in collaboration.[2][3]

See also

  • Actes noir
  • Babel noir

References

  1. ↑ Léauthier, Alain (31 March 2015). "Nicolas Mathieu et les gueules cassées de la France périphérique". Marianne (in French). Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 Gavoille, Emilie (21 November 2018). ""Aux animaux la guerre" : comment Nicolas Mathieu a façonné les personnages de son roman devenu série" [“Aux Animaux la Guerre”: How Nicolas Mathieu Shaped the Characters of His Novel-Turned-Series]. Telerama (in French). Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 Sélection LE MEILLEUR DES ADAPTATIONS. (2023, May). Lire, 56. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A772161247/GLS?u=lln_pebr&sid=bookmark-GLS&xid=557d12d1.
  4. ↑ Abalo, Hélène (11 March 2014). "Prix Erckmann-Chatrian 2014 à Nicolas Mathieu pour "Aux animaux la guerre"" [The 2014 Erckmann-Chatrian Prize was awarded to Nicolas Mathieu for “Aux animaux la guerre”]. France 3 Regions (in French). Archived from the original on 16 May 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  5. ↑ "Le premier polar de Nicolas Mathieu". Centre National du Livre (CNL) (in French). 26 October 2020. Archived from the original on 11 May 2026. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  6. ↑ Plougastel, Yann (10 February 2015). "Nicolas Mathieu Prix Mystère de la Critique 2015" [Nicolas Mathieu, winner of the 2015 Prix Mystère de la Critique]. Le Monde (in French). Archived from the original on 2 March 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  7. ↑ "Prix Goncourt. Un lauréat que le Goéland Masqué connaît bien". Le télégramme (in French). 13 November 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  8. ↑ "Le prix Ginkgo 2023 est décerné au livre audio Aux animaux la guerre de Nicolas Mathieu lu par Victorien Robert (Actes Sud)". Groupe Louis Pasteur Santé (in French). Louis Pasteur Santé. 13 June 2023. Archived from the original on 12 May 2026. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  9. 1 2 Wilson, Laura (20 August 2021). "The best recent crime and thrillers – review roundup". Archived from the original on 22 July 2025. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  10. ↑ BIO-BIBLIOGRAPHIE. (2022, February). Lire, 8. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A772153330/GLS?u=lln_pebr&sid=bookmark-GLS&xid=4d001b78
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