Zone Rouge

Michael Jerome Plunkett

We are démineurs. We dismantle bombs.

Ferrand Martin and his team of démineurs spend their days in the ruined fields of Zone Rouge on the periphery of Verdun, France where they clean up the artillery and explosives used in World War I. One bullet, one bit of shrapnel, one bomb at a time. The work, they say, is not measured in days, months, or years, but in generations. It’s taken a century to get this far, and it will take many more centuries to complete.

One morning, a routine call to pick up a half-buried artillery shell turns out to be much more than just a single missile: they discover a human skeleton, fully intact. Ferrand and his fellow démineurs dig deep into poisoned soil to reveal the past is rarely ever distant from the present.

This startling discovery kicks off a series of events that sees the usually desolate Zone Rouge teem with activity as academics, politicians, and locals all wrangle over the legacy of the War and what it means to remember. Zone Rouge is a brilliant reimagining of the Sisyphus myth suffused with our modern anxieties over war, climate, class, and the ghosts of our pasts.

Praise for Zone Rouge

"The scope and depth of Plunkett's vision is breathtaking and, like all good fiction, serves as a template to understand our private lives, as well as society as a whole. Zone Rouge promises to both devastate readers and reassemble them in new ways. Wonderful." —Sebastian Junger, bestselling author of TRIBE, WAR, THE PERFECT STORM

"An endearing page-turner, a stunning debut. Zone Rouge is a refreshing take on an ancient myth that feels contemporary yet retains its timeless message. Plunkett’s writing is precise and evocative and makes a strong petition against the idea that we are all victims of fate. Rather, by crafting a story equal parts absurd and profound, he unearths visceral truths about our power over our own destinies." —LtCol Tom Schueman, bestselling author of ALWAYS FAITHFUL

"The long, dark tail of war fills the alluring world of Zone Rouge, blighting the earth and shaping lives more than a century after the murderous Battle of Verdun. In the way only the best anti-war literature does, Michael Jerome Plunkett immerses us in the lasting consequences of humanity's old, ruinous lie, not by scolding or shouting, but by making us care for Ferrand Martin and his démineurs' endless toil. What beautiful writing and one hell of a debut." —Matt Gallagher, author of DAYBREAK

“Zone Rouge is a work of literature by a fine writer. This reimagining of Camus’ Myth of Sisyphus explores how we grapple with our impending death. With striking language and imagery, Plunkett creates a world that is a microcosm of the human condition. I urge you to read this riveting novel.” —Karl Marlantes, bestselling author of MATTERHORN, and WHAT IT IS LIKE TO GO TO WAR