Machaho Tellem Chaho

    On August 5 1973 , Algeria's National Publication House (the SNED ) released 'D. Counter-Attacks' (D. contre-attaque) by Abdelaziz Lamrani, a detective novel at the crossroad of spy fiction and murder mystery. D. Counter-Attacks is a typical spy novel of the 1970s (typical for Algeria): two Algerian agents, Samyr and Tarek, are sent by Algeria's secret services to Spain, in order to thwart the plans of zionists. Fighting against zionism is a big topic in Algerian crime fiction of the early to mid 1970s that also features multilingual alpha males flexing their muscles and women swooning. The investigation is fast-pasted, pan-Arabist in spirit, thoroughly mysoginistic, and ends in an odd and long rant about men having to pay the restaurant bill. If you're in the right mood, it's hilarious.   In 1973, detective novels produced in Algeria were recent in the country's publication history. Four novels by Youcef Khader (the pseudony