Mokeddem, Malika

Century of Locusts (European Women Writers)

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Century of Locusts (European Women Writers)
Malika Mokeddem
Manufacturer: Bison Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0803283067

Book Description

What first appears as a tiny moving shadow, no bigger than a fly, on the dazzling horizon slowly reveals itself as the grim shape of violence and death; in the destruction left behind—the mother’s broken body, the hidden child, the crying infant—begins the story of wandering and loss, of exile and desolation that sounds all the sad echoes of disappearing Bedouin life. Set in the first half of the twentieth century, Malika Mokeddem’s Century of Locusts combines the magic of exquisitely wrought desert landscapes, the intrigue of Bedouin tales of madmen and poets, and the personal pain of exile and isolation to evoke a way of life destroyed by the scourge of settler colonialism.

The book tells the braided tales of those left to resist: a wandering poet and his mute, stricken daughter, Yasmine; the lunatic Majnoun; and Majnoun's murderous sidekick, Hassan, who twitches and squints with malevolence, lurking along the story’s shadowy borders. Rippling ever outward with allusions and echoes, the tale eventually encompasses Algeria’s legendary past, its colonial injustices, and its uncertain future, even as Mokeddem’s poetry and deft touch confer life and hope on the ravaged body of this desert land.

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Of Dreams and Assassins (Caraf Books)
Malika Mokeddem
Manufacturer: University of Virginia Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0813919940

Book Description

Of Dreams and Assassins is the urgent and rhythmic fourth novel of Malika Mokeddem, her second to appear in English. Born in Algeria to a Bedouin family that had only recently become sedentary, Mokeddem was raised on the stories of her grandmother, who encouraged her education at a time when girls did not go to school. Though raised in a tolerant version of Islam, Mokeddem nevertheless felt the weight of custom and tradition. Of Dreams and Assassins, though not strictly autobiographical, evokes through the beauty and vastness and oppressive heat of the desert Mokeddem's early yearning for freedom. Through its heroine, Kenza, and her simultaneous rebellion and immersion in the literary classics at a boarding school, the novel dramatizes the possibilities for women to express their identities.

Kenza is an exile, first in her own society and later in France. Born during a visit to Montpellier in the year of Algerian independence, she returns with her mother to Oran to find her father has taken another wife. Her mother leaves alone, never to return. Kenza's subsequent search for herself through the mother she doesn't know, told in a frank first-person narrative, mirrors the struggle of Algerian women to make a place in a society that has stripped them of their rights in spite of their crucial participation in the war for independence. Kenza's suffocating childhood in the house of her boisterous, leering father is broken only by summers in the desert, where the dates "become golden brown and gleam like little clusters of suns that mock the children." Eventually, Kenza, like Mokeddem herself, leaves her home to go to school in Montpellier, because she can no longer tolerate life in Algeria.

Of Dreams and Assassins is a protest, against the subjugation of women in Algeria and the violence of the last ten years, perpetrated by fundamentalist Muslim guerrillas. In exile, Kenza puts her hope in mtissage, the blending of cultures embodied by the character of Slim, her friend and confidant, who lives happily with his mixed-race origins. Kenza's story dramatizes Mokeddem's belief that the future of Algeria lies in its women and in education; only through liberation and education can the pain of Kenza's exile be redeemed.

The Forbidden Woman (European Women Writers)
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I couldn't put it down - facinating and full of spirit

Excellent for the classroom.

The Forbidden Woman (European Women Writers)
Malika Mokeddem
Manufacturer: University of Nebraska Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0803282400

Book Description

The Forbidden Woman tells the story of Sultana, an Algerian woman doctor who, after years spent living in France, returns to her native village in order to attend the funeral of a former lover. The clash between her origins and the Westernized life she now leads is explored in telling detail against the backdrop of current events in Algeria. A work that combines insight into both political and personal matters, The Forbidden Woman develops a complex portrait of a country torn between progress and prejudice, secular life and Islamic fundamentalism.

In this passionate book, Malika Mokeddem places special emphasis on the position of women in modern Algeria. The frequent indignities and injustices suffered by the narrator reflect the plight of women in a society marked by patriarchalism and religious fundamentalism. Yet the novel also suggests that, along with modernization, there are emerging demands for women’s rights in Algeria—demands that might well signal a vastly different future for this tormented nation.

Customer Reviews:

I couldn't put it down - facinating and full of spirit.......2004-01-23

This book claims to take on, for the most part, the position of women in contemporary Algeria. But you can see many people's lives and how they're affected in this book. The narrative switches back and forth between Sultana, an Algerian woman doctor who lives in France, and a Frenchman in Algeria, Vincent. From the first, shocking few pages, to the very end, it captivated me. It is so hard to understand the FIS (Front Islamique du Salut, a radical Islamist Algerian group) and the way they see things. Sultana is an extremely dignified woman with much credibility and worhthy of anyone's respect, yet she is called a whore by her fellow Algerians when she walks on the street or goes to a bar or does ANYTHING really. The very end is the most surprising act of repression of all.

But there are so many glimpses of hope in this book as well, the little girl character of Delilah, the nurse Khaled. It seems that Algeria is torn between the strong, fundamental belief in their faith, and the changing world and people not wanting to be oppressed (who would?). Maybe fundamentalism is always a negative thing when it comes to faith and sprituality. Nobody has the right to force their ideas on others. I wish I had some idea of what I think would be something that could help Algeria. The language conflict (french and arabic, and to a lesser degree, Berber) seems difficult enough to tackle.

I'm sure this book was much better in its original French language text, although the translation is very good as well. Highly recommended, Algeria is facinating.

Excellent for the classroom........2003-07-13

One of the very best works of contemporary fiction set in the Maghrib. Raises the issues you would want for class discussion without the aggressive "eradicatory" anti-Islamism of most Algerian writers.

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N'zid
Malika Mokeddem
Manufacturer: Seuil
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

All French Books | French | Foreign Language Books | Specialty Stores | Books
ASIN: 2020491362

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L'interdite: Roman
Malika Mokeddem
Manufacturer: B. Grasset
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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ASIN: 2246481414

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UT, Nr.77, Die blauen Menschen
Malika Mokeddem
Manufacturer: Unionsverlag
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 329320077X

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La nuit de la lezarde: Roman
Malika Mokeddem
Manufacturer: B. Grasset
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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ASIN: 2246573114

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Des reves et des assassins: Roman
Malika Mokeddem
Manufacturer: B. Grasset
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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ASIN: 2246514819

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Les hommes qui marchent
Malika Mokeddem
Manufacturer: Grasset
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 2246492513

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Die Zeit der Heuschrecken.
Malika Mokeddem
Manufacturer: Unionsverlag
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 3293201164

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