Machaho Tellem Chaho

"Bled", le nouveau roman de l'écrivain Tierno Monénembo est paru en octobre aux éditions Seuil. Tierno Monénembo, né en Guinée en 1947, a enseigné en Algérie de 1979 à 1983 et c'est au bled que son imaginaire le ramène, et nous invite dans cette nouvelle fiction située dans les années 80, narrée par une femme, Zoubida. Le roman s'ouvre sur une jeune fille de Aïn Guesma qui s'enfuit pour échapper à une foule qui veut la lyncher. Son crime ? Etre tombée enceinte hors mariage et avoir gardé l'enfant. Un enfant illégitime chez les Mesbahi, « le troisième en mille ans. » Zoubida sait ce qu'elle risque en partant seule, sans parents et sans argent. Peu importe le cout, elle veut garder son enfant. Des années après les événements qui vont suivre sa fuite faite d'auto-stops, de voyages clandestins en bus, à dos d'âne et en voiture volée, et ses nombreux périples, comme avoir été retenue prisonnière dans la maison close tenue par Mounir,...

Another collective reflecting on the actions and non-actions that have created today's Algeria. Each writer is presented as a specialist of the field he or she chooses to retrace. In some cases the author is a well known specialist, in other cases, the writer simply has no more grasp of the matter at hand than any lambda citizen, and simply poses as one. The result is disappointing and makes for a dull read. This type of "reflection with hindsight" is another example of groups with friendly links to publishing houses who blindly edit the work of groups seemingly decided upon claiming they constitute an elite. If the essays were free I wouldn't complain, but these publications are always expensive. My review on TSA in French:  « Nous autres » : l’Algérie du futur et le futur de l’Algérie ?

Really enjoyed Djamila Morani's novella. Morani is a young Algerian author who writes in Arabic. Tufah el-Djinn is set in Baghdad during the Abbasid period. A 12-year old girl who has witnessed the assassination of her family and escapes is faced with two choices: let herself die or get better to find out why her father became such a threat and to whom. My review on TSA in French: Tufah el-Djinn : entre le pardon et la vengeance  

Aiming to demystify the Boumediene era, a collective of authors directed by Mohamed Kacimi tells their side of the story through their memories of these years as the children, teenagers or adults they once were. My review on TSA in French:  Les années Boum, souvenirs des années Boumediene

My roundup of authors and conferences not to miss during this edition of the International Book Fair of Algiers. On TSA in French:  Rencontres et conférences cette semaine au SILA

Hmida Ayachi is a well-established Algerian novelist and playright who writes in Arabic. One of his masterpieces " متاهات، ليل الفتنة " was translated into French by Lotfi Nia and published by Barzakh in October 2016. I have not yet read him in Arabic but the translation was astounding. Translator Lotfi Nia has made me discover an author who will remain one of my favourite Algerian novelist. My review The Maze on TSA in French below and here: Dédales, la nuit de la grande discorde de Hmida Ayachi Dédales, la nuit de la grande discorde de Hmida Ayachi Au mois d’octobre, le deuxième roman de Hmida Ayachi  متاهات، ليل الفتنة   a resurgi sur la scène littéraire grâce au traducteur Lotfi Nia.  Matahat  est maintenant publié en traduction sous le titre «  Dédales – la nuit de la grande discorde  » (Barzakh 2016). Cette traduction permet de redécouvrir l’une des œuvres majeures de Hmida Ayachi, dont l’original était publié en 2000, et de renou...

Barzakh editions are one of the strongest publishers of the market for fiction and non-fiction in French, in Algeria. To open this year's literary season, nothing more convenient than a list of their new novel releases. My overview of their book list on TSA in French:  Les nouveaux romans de la rentrée

The literary season in Algeria doesn't occur in January. Publishers begin to awaken in May and they fully flood libraries with their new releases in October, a time chosen to match with the International Book Fair of Algiers (SILA). One of my favourite publishers are MIM. Here's a quick overview of their new novels on TSA, in French:  Nouveaux romans et nouvelles voix chez les éditions MIM

Nadjet Dahmoune's short story collection published by ANEP editions is a wonderful read. These are all stories about Berber women, told by Berber women. Told as if both readers and narrators were sharing a late night tea by the fire, these women revisit their past, its beauty and many cruelties. One to watch particularly because it has finally inserted the Berber language into an Arabic text. My review on TSA in French here: Miroirs et réflexions : « Miraya Amazighiya » de Nadjet Dahmoune

In Algerian literature, few are the novelists who have taken for inspiration the situation of migrants crossing Algeria from the Sahel region and heading for Europe. Ahmed Tiab is the exception with his crime fiction  Le désert ou la mer ( The Desert or the Sea) published in May by L'Aube editions. My review here on TSA in French:  Migrations, clandestinité et tragédies : « Le désert ou la mer »

Anyone interested in an Algerian novel that has finally moved beyond the tropes of terrorism, Islamism and love-ism should read Said Khatibi’s  Kitab al-khataya . Algerian novelist Said Khatibi’s  Kitab al-khataya * (كتاب الخطايا), or  The Book of Faults,   is the unabashed story of a young woman who reviews her dating life with a great sense of humor and of honesty, weighing the good and the bad of her situation as a working woman, a little uncertain as to where she should be heading in life. Set in bustling Algiers and its suburbs, thirty-something Kahina is one of the many women and men who juggle work and dating, and who attempt to find a secure anchorage somewhere in an environment that is structurally changing and crumbling at a furious pace. In this refreshing novel, Khatibi etches tender, empathetic, and non-judgemental portraits of individuals who are simply trying to find a little space to dream. Kitab al-khataya  is Kahina’s book of erro...

Really enjoyed reading Alain Mabanckou's new essay Le Monde est mon langage (The World is My Language), a magistral literature lesson on novels written in French from novelists born and raised outside of France.  My review here in French on TSA:  Lecture: « Le monde est mon langage »

Hugh Roberts will be touring Algerian libraries from 17 to 27 August to present, discuss and sign his collection of essays "Algerie-Kabylie" published by Barzakh editions in 2014. All his articles were written between 1994 and 2010. They are still so relevant. Want to know what this collection contains and argues for ? Read a review here in French on TSA : Un rendez-vous à ne pas manquer cette semaine sera avec le politologue britannique Hugh Roberts programmé notamment à la librairie Cheikh de Tizi Ouzou le 17 août, pour présenter et débattre de son livre Algérie-Kabylie  (Barzakh, 2014). D’autres rencontres littéraires avec l’auteur auront également lieu à Tazmalt, Sidi Aïch, Akbou, Aïn El Hammam, Bouzeguene, Béjaïa et Boudjimaa. Associate Professor d’Histoire de l’Afrique du Nord et du Moyen-Orient depuis 2012 à l’université de Tufts aux USA, Hugh Roberts a concentré ses recherches sur l’Algérie depuis sa première visite en 1972. Inscrit en thèse ...

Algerian writer Sadek Aissat died of a heart attack in 2005. His novels attack little attention and he isn't often mentionned in Algerian literary things to speak about. And a terrible shame that is. Why ? Because this : In the official calendar of Algeria’s things to celebrate, many dates mark the events and figures that have influenced the course of our culture. We remember victories, putsches, goals, slaps in the face, and the bright light of the full moon. We also observe deaths, a whole lot of them. Systematic assassinations in the 90s considerably increased the number of these types of commemorations and since then, a trend to commemorate goodbyes has been set. But black, contrary to the wise words of the great Ahlem Mosteghanemi, doesn’t suit us.  We are color dealers, we burst into a multitude of blushes, all day long. We deal in the indigo of kohl, the ochre of honeyed wheat, the white of salt lakes in the east, the yellow of the...

Ramdane Abane's aura and charisma inspired the French writer Rene Victor Pilhes to write "The Night of Zelemta" (2016). A disappointing novel but an interesting angle... read a review in French here on TSA: Une rencontre avec Ramdane Abane durant son incarcération à Albi, et sur la route du Maroc après les exactions du Général Massu, ce serait comment ? C’est la question qui inspire toute l’intrigue de « La nuit de Zelemta » (Albin Michel, 2016) de l’auteur français René-Victor Pilhes et autour de laquelle le roman pivote. Les premières pages s’ouvrent sur deux hommes en conversation. Le curé Gabriel Antus écoute les dernières confidences du sous-lieutenant Leutier, gravement blessé. Son corps ne tiendra plus longtemps, Leutier le sait, alors il raconte. Jean Michel Leutier est né à Aïn Témouchent. Il a 18 ans en 1953, et ses prouesses scolaires lui promettent un bel avenir en Droit. Ses parents décident de l’envoyer à Toulouse pour pou...

Nina Bouraoui's new novel Beaux rivages (Beautiful shores) is about to be released. And what a delicious novel it is . Reviewed in French for TSA : Ce nouvel écrit, dont l’histoire est située à Paris entre deux dates très contemporaines, juste après les attentats de janvier 2015 et à l’aube de ceux du Bataclan, explore le grand thème de la trahison amoureuse à l’ère numérique. A., la narratrice vit et travaille dans la capitale française. Elle prête sa voix aux actrices, elle est doubleuse. Cet emploi lui permet de mener une vie confortable et de passer son temps libre à voyager. Elle est en couple avec Adrian depuis 8 ans. Lui vit en Suisse où il dirige une galerie d’art. Elle et Adrian sont plus qu’amants, ils se sont promis l’un à l’autre, et si le mariage n’a pas scellé leur relation sur papier, ils se sont toujours dit qu’ils finiraient leurs jours ensemble. Mais ça, c’était avant le SMS d’Adrian qu’elle reçoit sans aucun préliminaire, et...

The 19 volume of Riveneuve editions' literary magazine published in the spring of 2015 focused on Algeria. It argues that there is a nahda in Algerian literature based on what it calls 'the emergence' of novels that speak of the 90s, a proof of this 'renewal' or 'renaissance'. I entirely disagree. Here's why, in French on HuffPost Algerie : Is there a nahda in Algerian literature ? Il y a-t-il une nahda des lettres algériennes ? C'est la question que pose le numéro 19 de la revue littéraire Continents des éditions Riveneuve, et à laquelle il répond à l'affirmative dans cette anthologie de textes d'auteurs algériens et français, textes de fiction ou de non-fiction. Ce numéro 19 intitulé "Algérie : la nahda des lettres - la renaissance des mots", publié au printemps 2015, est entièrement dédié à la question d'une renaissance littéraire en Algérie. Dans ce volume, et dès l'introduction, Gilles Kraemer, direct...

Yasmina Khadra, Fellag, Abdelfetah Shehada, Chinua Achebe and Amari Chawki. Oh yes. Book recommendations in French on TSA here .

I was asked to review a novel recently, the story of which I didn't respond to very well. Not only did the novel turn out to be yet another male writer building a story on a sole character who only looks at its own navel, in poor prose, it was also another story from a male writer who speaks as a woman in the first person and depicts the rape of a woman, and female prostitution. I suddenly realised that publishing houses in Algeria are letting a specific genre developping, that of the egocentric novel, but also that, more worryingly, editors in Algeria and in France are regularly publishing, if not downright promoting, rape narratives recounted by a female character itself told by a male voice, that of the writer. While it could make for a great way to approach that kind of topic, it has made for linear, poor and what's worse: apologists' stories. Very disturbing. My review of the novel and my critique of the genre are on TSA in French and below : La porte de...