About this item
Highlights
- On an early autumn morning in 1988, on the outskirts of an unnamed Algerian city, a shepherd stumbles upon the lifeless body of Zaza Zaghouani, a stunning nightclub singer who left her hometown seeking a brighter future.
- About the Author: Saïd Khatibi is a novelist, travel writer, translator, and journalist born in 1984 in Bou Saâda, Algeria.
- 336 Pages
- Fiction + Literature Genres, Mystery & Detective
Description
Book Synopsis
On an early autumn morning in 1988, on the outskirts of an unnamed Algerian city, a shepherd stumbles upon the lifeless body of Zaza Zaghouani, a stunning nightclub singer who left her hometown seeking a brighter future.
The story is set in 1988 Algeria. It takes place in just forty days, ending as mass protests erupt in the country. In a small town on the edge of the desert, plagued by a locust infestation and a food shortage, teetering on the brink of uprising, the body of Zakia Zaghouani--the singer at the Sahara Hotel--is discovered. Suspicion immediately falls on her lover, who is thrown into prison. The incompetent and greedy Inspector Hamid begins an investigation. So does the defense lawyer of the main suspect. Family, friends, and close ones give their testimonies, finding themselves confronted with their past. Secrets, betrayals, grudges, but also dreams and hopes shed light on their connection to the victim: each person harbors, for one reason or another, the desire to take revenge on her.
Review Quotes
The End of the Sahara won the prestigious Sheikh Zayed Book Award Young Author category in 2023. On the announcement of the prize, the SZBA judging panel noted that the book "exhibits imaginative characteristics, stylistic originality, and narrative proficiency in the genre of detective literature. . . [and] is distinguished by its eloquence and seamless flow."
About Sarajevo Firewood, his first novel translated into English: "Khatibi's style is simple, precise and beautiful. A true sculptor, he shapes his sentences and eliminates the superfluous. We face both Ivana and Salim in the first person, head on, an astonishing novel and Khatibi is one of the most original voices in Arabic literature today." --Amara Lakhous, author, Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio
About the Author
Saïd Khatibi is a novelist, travel writer, translator, and journalist born in 1984 in Bou Saâda, Algeria. He currently lives in Slovenia. He writes in Arabic and French and translates between both. His novel Sarajevo Firewood, was shortlisted for the 2020 International Prize for Arabic Fiction and was his first novel translated into English. His other novels are The Book of Errors which was published in 2013, and Forty Years Waiting for Isabelle which won the 2017 Katara Award for Arabic Novels. He has written a travel book about the Balkans, The Inflamed Gardens of the East, 2015, and has written extensively on raï music, including a book (Wedding Fire, 2010). The End of the Sahara won the Sheikh Zayed Book Award Young Author category in 2023.