Algerian Author’s Goncourt Win for Civil War Novel Met with Silence in Home Country

An Algerian author has, for the first time, received France’s most prestigious literary prize, the Goncourt, for a powerful depiction of his nation’s civil war in the 1990s. Kamel Daoud’s novel, titled *Houris*, chronicles Algeria’s violent “dark decade,” a period during which an estimated 200,000 individuals were killed in massacres attributed to either Islamists or the army. The novel’s protagonist, Fajr (meaning Dawn in Arabic), survived having her throat cut by Islamist fighters, bearing a smile-like scar on her neck and requiring a speaking tube for communication. She recounts her experiences to the unborn daughter she carries. The Goncourt committee noted that the book, written in French, “gives voice to the suffering of a dark period in Algeria, particularly the suffering of women.” The committee added, “It shows how literature… can trace another path for memory, next to the historical account.” Ironically, the book is unlikely to be widely read in Algeria. It lacks an Algerian publisher, its French publisher Gallimard has been barred from the Algiers Book Fair, and Daoud’s Goncourt triumph remained unreported in Algerian media a day after the announcement. Furthermore, Daoud, who now resides in Paris, could potentially face criminal charges for discussing the civil war. A “reconciliation” law enacted in 2005 criminalizes the act of attempting to “instrumentalise the wounds of the national tragedy,” making it punishable by imprisonment. Daoud asserts that this law effectively renders the civil war—a conflict that profoundly traumatized the entire country—a forbidden topic. “My 14 year-old daughter did not believe me when I told her about what had happened, because the war is not taught in schools,” Daoud informed Le Monde newspaper. He also stated, “I cut out some of the worst scenes I wrote. Not because they were untrue, but because people would not believe me.” Daoud, 54, possessed direct knowledge of the massacres, having worked as a journalist for the *Quotidien d’Oran* newspaper during that era. In various interviews, he has recounted the grim routine of counting bodies, only to witness authorities manipulate his figures—either increasing or decreasing them—to align with their desired narrative. “You develop a routine,” he remarked. “Come back, write your piece, then get drunk.” He served as a columnist for many years but gradually incurred the displeasure of the Algerian government due to his refusal to conform. He is a vocal critic of what he perceives as the official “instrumentalisation” of the 1954-1962 war of independence against France, as well as the ongoing subjugation of women in Algerian society. “In a way the Islamists lost the civil war militarily, but they won politically,” he commented. He expressed his hope that his book “will make people think about the price of freedom, especially for women. And in Algeria, that it will encourage people to confront all of our history, not fetishise one part over the rest.” Daoud has authored two prior novels, one of which, the acclaimed *Meursault Investigation*—a reinterpretation of Albert Camus’s *The Stranger*—was shortlisted for the Goncourt in 2015. In 2020, the author relocated to Paris, describing himself as “exiled by the force of things,” and acquired French nationality. He has previously stated, “All Algerians are Franco-Algerians,” adding, “Either out of hate or out of love.” In Algeria, he is a polarizing figure. His adversaries view him as a traitor who betrayed his country to France, while others acknowledge him as a literary prodigy of whom the nation should be proud. During his post-award press conference, Daoud himself affirmed that his ability to write *Houris* was contingent on his move to France. “France gave me the freedom to write. It is a land of refuge for writers,” he declared. He concluded, “To write you need three things. A table, a chair and a country. I have all three.”