Patchwork - Prix Femina 2018, Philippe Lançon

Lambeau, n.m. 1. Piece of fabric, paper, or flexible material, torn or ripped, detached from the whole or partially attached. 2. By analogy: piece of flesh or skin, torn off voluntarily or accidentally. Bloody shred; shreds of flesh and blood. Juan, desperate, bit his cheek, tearing off a piece of flesh that exposed his jaw (Borel, Champavert, 1833, p. 55). 3. Surgery: segment of soft tissue preserved during limb amputation to cover the bone parts and obtain a flexible scar. After the amputation, all that remained was to fold the flap of flesh over the wound, like a flat epaulet (Zola, Débâcle, 1892, p. 338). (Definitions extracted from the Trésor de la Langue Française).