Silence like blood by Marie-Célie Agnant

The five short stories that make up Silence like blood happen there, with those who stayed, others who left, some who come back and leave again. All are inhabited by common but repressed memories that the author brings back to life. Some lie down to die like Grandmother Reine, the Commander, others, like Antonio, choose combat rather than the gentle arms of Flora. Who is a traitor? Who is a friend? Stay? Leave? Whether we leave or stay, the memory remains.

Chronicles of a world given over to silence, a reminder of childhoods cut short by fear and repression, Silence like blood tracks down memory and echoes the lost steps in these missed encounters with a country. "I felt like we were all suffering from a shameful disease, the only cure for which was silence or flight."