Lucie Rico's novel But what is the blood doing on Jennifer's sweater? has been selected as a finalist for the Prix des Deux Magots 2026. Published by P.O.L, the book opens with a childhood memory and explores themes of traumatic amnesia and the reconstruction of memory through a narrative inspired by the giallo film genre. The title is derived from a 1972 giallo film by Giuliano Carnimeo, Perché quelle strane gocce di sangue sul corpo di Jennifer?, which translates to "Why those strange drops of blood on Jennifer's body?" Giallo is an Italian film genre known for its stylized violence and psychological themes. Rico, who lives in Perpignan and spends part of the year in Paris, has never entered the café des Deux Magots, though she is familiar with its literary history. She mentions that the lists of laureates of the prize remind her of many authors and provide her with reading ideas. The novel begins with a minor incident involving Jennifer, who works as a transcriptionist. Her computer's period key stops working, forcing her to find alternative ways to punctuate her text. This technical issue becomes a metaphor for the larger problem of an unresolved memory. Rico explains that she wrote the novel in a more spontaneous manner than her usual method, which involved writing in fragments according to a precise architecture. The narrative centers on a childhood memory that Jennifer cannot fully recall. A sentence from her past, detached from any context, involves watching Gone with the Wind and seeing Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable about to kiss when the scene is paused. The sentence ends with "and," leaving the continuation inaccessible. Rico explores how memory is formless and how language becomes the only way to approach what has no materiality. The novel delves into the collective nature of memory, showing how family narratives can distort or reshape individual memories. Rico draws on her own experience of rediscovering a childhood memory years later, which led her to question her reliability as a narrator. She read several books on amnesia and neuroscience to ensure her portrayal was accurate, though she chose to limit documentation to preserve a sensitive approach. Rico uses a method inspired by judicial investigation to reconstruct Jennifer's memory. She explains that the reconstruction method allows for the reactivation of memories through physical settings, similar to how police might obtain confessions. This method provided the framework necessary for her to write the novel, which she describes as a "real apnea" due to the deep immersion required. Technology plays a significant role in the novel, with elements such as the computer, VHS tapes, and GPS functions serving as relays of memory. Rico notes that the support itself modifies the experience of watching a film or using technology, and she questions the languages transmitted by these technologies in her writing. At the end of the investigation, Jennifer seeks to find the scene exactly as it happened, but Rico suggests that what she finds is not the intact memory but a version in which she feels comfortable. The film Gone with the Wind is used as an example of how memory differs from a film, which can be found exactly as it was because it is edited and projected uniformly, while memory remains a particular reception. The final vote for the Prix des Deux Magots 2026 will be held on October 5, with four finalists competing.