Machaho Tellem Chaho

On the Steps of Cervantes in Algiers (2008) is a discussion in Arabic - with a French translation next to it - by Waciny Laredj on Algeria's past and present, the development of the Algerian novel.... and Cervantès.  It reads as a reflection on the Algerian collective-self.  I have it tagged for my next next reading but from the first two pages I was struck by the following.  Let me translate (emphasis in the text are my own) : "Chance, sometimes, works things well; unfortunately, men don't manage as much.  In the second century and the tenth century, Algeria saw the emergence and the passage of two emblematic figures: Lucius Apulée and Miguel de Cervantès.  Both founders of an atypical genre: the novel.  Their texts are foundation stones, 'The Golden Ass' and 'Don Quichotte', who were born fully or partially on Algerian soil, altered the face of literature on a universal scale.  However, this is never spoken of in Al...