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Caryl Férey

キャリル・フェレイ

Kyariru Ferei

Aliases: ジャック・ダニエル（オリヴィエ・モーとの共作時の筆名）
Pen Names: Jacques Daniel（Used with Olivier Mau as a joint pen name for children's books and collaborations）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1967-06-01 （Caen, Calvados, France）
Nationality
France
Languages
French
Residence History
Montfort-sur-Meu, Brittany, France → Rennes, Brittany, France

Career

Occupations
novelist, screenwriter
Active Years
1994-
Nominations
Trophée 813 2024 (nominated for Best Francophone Novel: Okavango)

Awards

Prix SNCF du polar
2005
Work: Utu
Organization: SNCF
Result: 受賞
Prix Sang d'encre
2005
Work: Utu
Organization: Sang d'encre
Result: 受賞
Prix Michel-Lebrun
2005
Work: Utu
Organization: Ville du Mans
Result: 受賞
Grand prix de littérature policière
2008
Work: Zulu
Organization: Grand prix de littérature policière
Result: 受賞
Prix Mystère de la critique
2009
Work: Zulu
Organization: Prix Mystère de la critique
Result: 受賞
Prix du Roman Noir Nouvel Observateur / Bibliobs
2009
Work: Zulu
Organization: Nouvel Observateur / Bibliobs
Result: 受賞
Prix Jean Amila-Meckert
2009
Work: Zulu
Organization: Jean Amila / Salon d'Arras
Result: 受賞
Prix Landerneau (polar)
2012
Work: Mapuche
Organization: Prix Landerneau
Result: 受賞
Prix Ténébris
2013
Work: Mapuche
Organization: Prix Ténébris
Result: 受賞
Prix des Lecteurs Quais du polar / 20 minutes
2009
Work: Zulu
Organization: Quais du polar / 20 minutes
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Utu

2004 Crime novel / Noir 410 pages

Set in New Zealand, Utu examines how past violence and traumas influence contemporary crimes. Themes include indigenous culture and the Maori concept of utu (revenge).

revengetraumaindigenous cultureviolence

Zulu

2008 Crime novel / Social noir 400 pages

A crime novel set in South Africa where violence, corruption and revenge intersect. Through its characters' tragedies it portrays the divisions and pain of post‑apartheid society.

post-apartheid societyrevengeviolencejusticeracial tensions
Adaptations
  • [Film] Zulu (film) / Jérôme Salle (2013)
Translations
  • English edition 'Zulu'

Mapuche

2012 Crime novel / Social thriller 456 pages

Set in Argentina, Mapuche is a social crime novel that centers on the oppression of the Mapuche people and land struggles, addressing state violence and issues of memory.

indigenous rightsland strugglestate violencememory and revenge

Paz

2019 Historical crime novel / Social thriller 544 pages

Set against Colombia's violent twentieth-century history, Paz follows a father and his two sons in a sweeping narrative where political violence and family ties intersect.

familypolitical violenceColombian historyreconciliation and revenge

Okavango

2023 Crime novel / Social fiction 530 pages

Set in the Okavango region of Africa, this novel explores poaching, ecological destruction and the darker aspects of local communities, combining environmental issues with crime-thriller elements.

poachingenvironmental destructionlocal communitiesviolence

Lëd

2021 Social fiction / reportage-style 528 pages

Set in Norilsk, Russia, Lëd portrays the harsh realities and oppression of life in the frozen city, blending fiction with reportage-informed detail.

workersoppressionextreme northern environmentalienation

Bibliography

  • Avec un ange sur les yeux (1994)
  • Delicta Mortalia: péché mortel (1994)
  • Haka (1998)
  • Plutôt crever (2002)
  • Utu (2004)
  • Zulu (2008)
  • Mapuche (2012)
  • The Nights of San Francisco (Les Nuits de San Francisco) (2014)
  • Condor (2016)
  • Paz (2019)
  • Lëd (2021)
  • Okavango (2023)
  • Magali (2024)
  • Le Steve McQueen (2024)
  • Grindadráp (2025)

Adaptations

  • Zulu (film, 2013, dir. Jérôme Salle)
  • Kompromat (film, 2022; co-writer)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
hard-boiledsocial noirdocumentary‑style realism
Recurring Motifs
violence and revengeoppression and discriminationfractured familiestravel and movementhistorical trauma

Legacy

Recognized as a social-noir writer who builds fiction on field research. By addressing post-colonial issues, indigenous struggles and political violence, he has brought new perspectives to Francophone crime literature.

Archives

  • Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) holdings

In Popular Culture

  • Film adaptation: Zulu (2013)
  • Co-writer on film: Kompromat (2022)

Quotes

  • I always feel on the side of the oppressed.
    Source: Interview (2017) — Le Temps (2017)
  • Reality, as always, caught up with me.
    Source: Statement (2008) — Alternative Libertaire (2008)

Trivia

  • His given name was inspired by the death-row inmate Caryl Chessman.
  • He travelled around the world when he was about twenty.
  • Has written children's books under the pen name Jacques Daniel (in collaboration).