Anne Engel

An epic novel about a 'Kabyle' family's journey from the Algerian mountains into camps in France, trapped in the worst jobs in the worst places and the grandmother and her children and her children's children, especially daughters. As they mix their genes with French families, their relationship to the old country, the old language, religion and identity changes forever. This is a personal voyage that then traces a route back to modern Algeria by the central character, Naima. Nothing is assumed, no sentimentality touches any of the pages. A tough absorbing story about a North African country still mired in danger and its relationship with its European community. Read.