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1967 Crime Fiction - Ahmed Chenouf-Boudi








While looking for the earliest crime fiction novel I could possibly find published by an Algerian novelist and/or in Algeria, I came across the name of Ahmed Chenouf-Boudi. Chenouf-Boudi, a journalist from Batna, is known to have published a number of crime/spy short stories in the newspaper An-Nasr in 1967, and from 1968 in the newspaper Algérie Actualités. Unfornutately no national archive holds these weeklies, and none of his stories was published in book format. Perhaps that one day, I'll find a copy of either papers and will be able to read and publish the stories, but in the meantime here is what we know.

 Chenouf-Boudi published a short story recounting an investigation. The title is 'Le fellah, l'ex-tirailleur et le commissaire politique' (The Fellah, the ex-skirmisher, and the political commander), published in An-Nasr, on 20 septembre 1967 et 7 octobre 1967. When this newspaper first appeared, it was produced in French, it moved to Arabic a few years later.

Several of Chenouf-Boudi's short stories, from 1969 and later, feature an investigating spy called R-13, a type of character that became very popular in the crime fiction novels of Youcef Khader (pseudonym of Roger Vlatimo) and Abdelaziz Lamrani.

Chenouf-Boudi is probably one of many Algerian writers who, post independence, published crime fiction in newspapers, and that was never collected or archived. Crime fiction is one of several types of literary production such as sci-fi, comics, and theatre, for which earlier works are lost. Many writers made their first steps in newspapers or on radio before publishing their work as books, when publishers permitted.



Short stories by Ahmed Chenouf-Boudi :

"Le fellah, l'ex-tirailleur et le commissaire politique", An-Nasr, 20 septembre 1967 et 7 octobre 1967
 
"La fin de la période héroïque", Algérie-Actualité, n° 151, 8 septembre 1968 ;  

"La bataille de Djeurf", ibid. n° 164, 8 décembre 1968 ;  

"Alfa R-13", ibid. n° 175, 23 février 1969 (repris dans An-Nasr, 20 et 21 août 1969 ;  

"Le dernier combat", ibid. n° 186, 11 mai 1969 ; "Tragique destinée", ibid. n° 199, 10 août 1969 ;  

"Le terroriste", ibid. n° 206, 5 octobre 1969 ; "A l'aube d'un matin de juillet", An-Nasr, Ie novembre 1969 ; 

 "Alfa R-13 à Paris", Algérie-Actualité, n° 214, 23 novembre 1969 ; "Alfa 13", ibid. n° 209, 19 octobre 1969 ;  

"Le déserteur d'In-Salah", ibid. n° 228, Ie mars 1970 ; "Le Samourai", ibid. n° 232, 29 mars 1970 ;  

"Alfa R-13 Mission spéciale", ibid. n° 238, 10 mai 1970 ;  

"Alfa R-13 contre O.A.S."j Commando en mission, s.d. (mai 1970), 4 p.; 

"Alfa R-13, Mépris", Algérie-Actualité, n° 250, 2 août 1970 ; 

"Alfa R-13, Mission à Francfort", ibid. n° 251, 9 août 1970 ;  

"Eliminez cet homme ! " ibid. n° 252, 18 août 1970 ; 

"Alfa R-13, Opération Khaled Ibn el Walid", ibid. n° 260, 11 octobre 1970 ; 

"La bataille de Tibhirine", An-Nasr, 30 octobre 1970. 

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