Les civilisés: Roman

by Claude Farrère

"Les civilisés: Roman" by Claude Farrère is a novel published in 1905 that won the Prix Goncourt the same year. Set in late 19th-century Saigon, the story follows three Frenchmen—a doctor, an engineer, and a naval officer—who indulge in opium, debauchery, and colonial excess. As two of them seek redemption through love, their pasts threaten to destroy any chance at transformation. When war erupts with England, each man faces a drastically different fate in this exploration of morality and consequence.