f Crime in popular fiction: Remembering the Algerian War of Independence in contemporary French crime fiction

Critics have evoked parallels between the French experience of Vichy during World War II and the Algerian War of Independence, in terms of their intensely divisive nature and the difficulty the French have had, and continue to have, in acknowledging repressed memories of both conflicts. France has come rather further in confronting its Vichy past than it has in facing up to repressed memories of the Algerian War. In addition to the memory work done by historians and film-makers, occluded memories of Vichy and occupation have been tackled by writers of crime fiction. While the investigatory framework of the crime novel has been identified as an ideal narrative tactic for unearthing forgotten or hidden memories of the past, little critical attention has yet been paid to its deployment in remembering the Algerian War of Independence. This article aims to examine the ways in which the conflict is remembered through selected crime novels by three French writers: Maurice Attia, Didier Daeninckx and Maurice Gouiran, and the part these texts play in ongoing memory work.