First published 2022
Naïma grows up surrounded by fragments of a lost world. Her grandmother cooks Algerian food and speaks a language Naïma cannot understand. Her father refuses to remember anything about Algeria, insisting he is French. When her grandfather dies before sharing his story, Naïma decides to travel to Algeria herself to discover what her family left behind. Her grandfather's journey began during the Algerian War for Independence. He went from owning prosperous olive groves and serving as a respected World War I veteran to becoming a harki refugee rejected by fellow Algerians. In French transit camps, he struggled to survive before moving north to scrape together a new life as an immigrant. The colonial war tore communities apart and split families down the middle. Political power shifted rapidly, destroying ordinary lives in an instant. Naïma must determine where her family belongs in this violent history and how they will find their place in France's future. Her search reveals how families carry forward the wounds of lost countries, forgotten languages, and severed connections across generations.
Genres: family, algeria, historical-fiction, 20th-century, 21st-century, africa
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, identity
Setting: Algeria, France
Period: Algerian War for Independence, World War I
448 pages · Paperback · Picador Paper
Content warnings: colonialism