Abstract: Using Waciny Laredj’s novel as its reference point, this article raises the question of the male body in its experience of migration. During and after the “test of the mirror,” the unrecognizable reflection of a face causes a search through the male’s memories for an identity. The body appears to be what holds onto the experience of the migrant and his memory: wounds and burns on his body recall exploitation of a working-class body neglected by the host country and sometimes destined to disappear.
