- Kaouther Admini (1986-, Algeria) – Nos richesses (2018, English trans. Our Riches, 2020). This novel is a fictional rendition of Edmont Charlot, a French librarian who founded Les Vraies Riches, Algiers’ famous bookstore, in the mid-1930s when he was 20. He is, among other things, famous for discovering Albert Camus. The novel depicts his life story in a diary form alternated with an account of Algeria’s struggle with colonial rule, including illustrations of brute French force, such as the 1945 Sétif massacre, which also affects Charlot bookstore (reference). But the novel also includes descriptions of Algiers as a city as well as its inhabitants.
- Ḥanān Būkhalālah (?, Algeria) – Sūsṭārah (‘Sustarah’, 2019). This novel is set in the poor Sustarah neighborhood in the center of Algiers. It centers a love story between the 24-year-old Zaynab and ʿAlīlū. ʿAlīlū works in an internet shop and contact between the two takes place mainly in the virtual space. Through their story, the novel reflects on the daily issues faced by the inhabitants, such as family feuds, failed marriages, love for soccer, and the eternal hope for a better future.
- Aziz Chouaki (1951-, Algeria) – L’étoile d’Alger (2002, English trans. The Star of Algiers, 2004). The young singer Moussa Massy and his Arab African fusion band try their best to become successful in a turbulent Algiers in the 1990s when the FIS, an Islamic political party, gains popularity. Moussa lives in three rooms with 13 members of his family, and shares one room with his two brothers, one of which is a member of the FIS (reference). When the FIS wins the election in 1990, Moussa is banned from preforming and descends into a life of alcohol and drug abuse (also in O: Occupations, Professions and Hobbies: Music and 1991 – 2002: Algerian Civil War).
- Bashīr Muftī (1969-, Algeria) – Dumyat al-Nār (‘Toy of fire’, 2012). This novel describes the conditions in Algiers before the Arab Uprisings of 2011 through the story of the revolutionary Riḍā Shāwish. Riḍā’s narration is full of confessions and regrets, as he reflects on how his upbringing in the Balūzdād neighborhood, particularly by his father who was a prison torturer, influences his life choices (reference). The novel also includes the ‘dark decade’ of the Algerian Civil War (see also 1991 – 2002: Algerian Civil War), shedding light on how the violence of the past shapes the present.
- Samīr Qasīmī (1974-, Algeria) – Salālim Trūlār (‘Stairs of trolar’, 2019). With satirical wit, this novel portrays a parallel Algiers in which it follows the lives of several characters such as Jamāl Ḥamīdī, who used to be a doorman at the Ministry of Culture, his ex-wife, who is nicknamed Ulghā due to her resemblance of a Russian woman, and ‘the author’, who writes to her husband from Marseille in France. The novel centers around two events: the chaos following the disappearance of all doors and windows in the city, making all the personal and private suddenly public, and the reemerging of the doors and windows and returning of life back to normal.
- Boualem Sansal (1949-, Algeria) – Rue Darwin (‘Darwin Street’, 2011). This novel is narrated by Yazid, whose mother, Karima, who, from her hospital bed in Paris, requests him to return to the site of his childhood: Rue Darwin in the Belcourt district of Algiers (reference). Once returned, Yazid relives his early youth and comes to realize some of the family’s secrets he is not so sure he wants to know. The novel reflects on questions of memory, denial, the violent history of Algeria, and reconciliation.
- Amin al-Zawi’s (Amīn al-Zāwī, 1956-, Algeria) – L’enfant de l’oeuf (‘Child of the egg’, 2017). This satirical novel is set in Algiers’ Tilmli neighborhood and centers a dog, Ariss, and his owner Mūl, or Mawlūd. Ariss is a philosopher, who asks his owner difficult questions on religion, politics, and culture, as they walk through the city and discuss their views.
Refrences:
In order of appearance
- Lily Meyer. 2020. “Love of Literature – And Algeria – Illuminates ‘Our Riches’.” www.npr.org May 3, 2020 https://www.npr.org/2020/05/03/848813210/love-of-literature-and-algeria-illuminates-our-riches?t=1612108936082 (last accessed 31 January 2021)
- Deborah Levy. 2006. “‘The Star of Algiers’ by Aziz Chouaki, trans. Ros Schwarts and Lulu Norman.” www.independent.co.uk, 11 August 2006, https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-star-of-algiers-by-aziz-chouaki-trans-ros-schwartz-amp-lulu-norman-411327.html (last accessed 9 March 2019)
- Nūr al-Hadī Ghūlī. 2011. “‘Dumiyat al-Nār’, Riwāyat al-Sharr al-Mutarabiṣ!” www.aljeera.net, 29 November 2011, https://www.aljazeera.net/culture/2011/11/29/%D8%AF%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%91-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%A8%D8%B5 (last accessed 21 March 2024)
- Mustapha Harzoune. 2012. “Boualem Sansal, ‘Rue Darwin’.” Hommes & migrations 1296: 154-155, p. 154