What is it about?
This article in French whose title means "Memory Bursts and bolts: The Algerian War of Independence in Mehdi Charef’s written works", focuses on the 2006 autobiography by Mehdi Charef, an Algerian born French man. Although he is the author of four books, mostly novels, Charef is better known for his films, like "Le the au Harem d'Archi Ahmed". The article argues that his latest autobiographical work, "A Bras le Corps", is the first to deal directly with the Algerian War of Independence seen from the point of view of a child, a victim who experiences war as a long, unending trauma. Charef' style reproduces this experience vividly and authentically.
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Why is it important?
The Algerian War of Independence is the topic of many books and films, but only in recent years has the war been acknowledged as such. The article documents this evolution, and shows that only skilful writers like Charef are able to communicate its true impact on a whole generation which in a dramatic twist of historical irony ended up living in France when their parents immigrated to escape poverty, France the very country that fought against their hard-earned independence.
Perspectives
I have published other articles on the topic of the Algerian War of independence as told by Beurs, who is a generic and contested term for the sons and daughters of Algerian migrants to France. I am always impressed by their use of literature to overcome the trauma their families and themselves experienced, and how they finally reconciled with the ex-colonial powers.
Professor Helene Jaccomard
University of Western Australia
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Eclats et ecarts de memoire : La guerre d'independence algerienne dans l'œuvre ecrite de Mehdi Charef, Nottingham French Studies, March 2009, Edinburgh University Press,
DOI: 10.3366/nfs.2009.007.
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