First Blood

"First Blood" is an ambiguous narrative space where autobiography intertwines with novel, and stark reality merges with creative imagination. In 1964, Patrick Nothomb, the Belgian ambassador in the Democratic Republic of Congo, is captured by an armed group. While in captivity, he reflects on his entire life, reconsidering everything—from his identity and origins to the world around him in his present moment. Through the exploration of this public figure''s life, the author presents a period of history in all its political, social, and cultural facets, along with its psychological and emotional repercussions on a man known to all as the captive ambassador, yet known to her by countless traits simply because he is, after all, her father.