The very first Algerian novel written in Arabic was The Wind of the South, by Abdelhamid Benhedouga. It was published in 1970.
Algeria is unlike other Arab countries in terms of its literature. When we talk about the Algerian novel, we don’t necessarily think of books written in Arabic. The nation’s modern novels are mostly written in French — especially the ones that have propelled their authors to international fame.
These writers include Mouloud Mammeri, Mouloud Feraoun, Mohammed Dib, Assia Djebar, Rachid Boudjedra, Malek Haddad, Kateb Yacine, Rachid Mimouni, Boualem Sansal, and Yasmina Khadra, to name just to a few.
They established a model for the authentic Algerian novel in French that has its own unique characteristics unlike novels written in Arabic by other Algerian authors.
Algeria’s Arabic-language novels are exquisite and well-known in the Arab world, but in general terms, they have not reached the same level of global literary success, despite being translated into several languages. Even established authors such as Ahlam Mosteghanemi, Waciny Laredj, Amin Zaoui, Bashir Mufti, and Amara Lakhous fall into this category.
The only exceptions are probably the bilingual author Rachid Boudjedra who wrote successful novels in both French and Arabic, becoming a nominee for the Nobel Prize for Literature more than once since 2004.
"Toute guerre est toujours une guerre perdue..."
Rachid Boudjedra, Printemps pic.twitter.com/ralsjHOgf9
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Another Algerian writer who was also nominated for the Nobel Prize was Assia Djebar, who had a prestigious academic status in France, the country where she lived until her death.
Cultural conflict
This inability of Algerian novelists to achieve a distinctive national narrative style in Arabic has led to two distinct terms. “The Algerian Novel” applies to French language works and “The Novels Written in Algeria” refers to those authored in Arabic.
This demonstrates the bilingual and cultural controversy prevailing in Algeria — a country where four languages coexist with each other — but it also reflects the linguistic and cultural components competing for the country’s national identity.