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Ceea Ce Ziua Datoreaza Noptii (2008)

by Yasmina Khadra(Favorite Author)

4.12 of 5 Votes: 2

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

Spandugino

review 1: Yasmina Khadra is one of my favorite author. This ex-military has written excellent books, my two favorite being The Attack and What the day owes the night. I will focus for this review on What the day owes the night which has been translated into English in 2010.This book has a strong signification for a lot of French people as it tells the story of Younes, the adopted son of an Algerian and his French wife during the time of colonial Algeria. The timespan of the novel is pretty long, from 1930 to 1962. It describes very well the lifestyle of an elite and the way the Algerian society was organized when it was under French control. Younes struggles between two worlds. He is Muslim, born Algerian but raised as a French. The independence war will force him to choose one path... more.I especially love this book because of my familial history. Algeria has a special place in French history as it was more than a colony, it was considered as an extension of France, a "departement". More than one million of French citizen settled over there in the hope of a better life. My grand-father, whose parents were very modest clock makers, was able to study to become a doctor as the university was free. My grand-mother was the daughter of affluent farmers who settled in Algeria in 1870. During my childhood I was told stories about the beauty of Alger, the easy life of colonists during that time, and the rushed return that followed the beginning of the Independence war. My grand mother's parents actually refused to leave for France and were killed over there.Yasmina Khadra is able to tell this story of Colonial Algeria without excess or pathos. His writing is as always elegant and refined. While The Attack is dark and shocking (I will probably review it later in the year as it is one of Khadra's masterpiece), What the day owes the night is more peaceful and light, and makes a perfect read for amateur historians.
review 2: I enjoyed the historic part of the book although it was not that satisfying to me as I wished it has included more information about the Algerian history. I like the way the author shows how Younis was torn between his original identity and his life among French people and how it was hard for him to take side when war started.What I didn't like was the love story that the novel was based on. For me it was boring and ridiculous. less

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