Autumn of the Phantoms
Autumn of the Phantoms by Yasmina Khadra
Just finished reading this book, it’s a fascinating look into violence and terror in Algeria of the 1990's. The writing is internal and psychological, it does not give much information on the background of the conflict. But a lot of description of the psychology of men’s minds. It does not seem a typical mystery novel, more political and historical.
The story centers around police man Brahim Llob, who is also a detective writer, and is summoned by the chief of police and dismissed on the basis of his book Morituri, which is considered dishonorable and filled with lies. The disgruntled policeman hangs out with his friends disgusted with the state of affairs in Algeria. He then goes back to his village where an insurgency is going on. He returns to Algiers to be blow up and riddled with bullets.
The book is dark and heavy, here’s a taste, but it is worth a read.
I’m the one who’s despairing though. Despairing at the sight of my world, wilting under the exhalations of phantoms; despairing at the realization, at my time of life, that nothing remains of hopes I struggled to entertain in the face of adversity and the Hun like advance of oppportunitistc and greedy arrivistes.
Just finished reading this book, it’s a fascinating look into violence and terror in Algeria of the 1990's. The writing is internal and psychological, it does not give much information on the background of the conflict. But a lot of description of the psychology of men’s minds. It does not seem a typical mystery novel, more political and historical.
The story centers around police man Brahim Llob, who is also a detective writer, and is summoned by the chief of police and dismissed on the basis of his book Morituri, which is considered dishonorable and filled with lies. The disgruntled policeman hangs out with his friends disgusted with the state of affairs in Algeria. He then goes back to his village where an insurgency is going on. He returns to Algiers to be blow up and riddled with bullets.
The book is dark and heavy, here’s a taste, but it is worth a read.
I’m the one who’s despairing though. Despairing at the sight of my world, wilting under the exhalations of phantoms; despairing at the realization, at my time of life, that nothing remains of hopes I struggled to entertain in the face of adversity and the Hun like advance of oppportunitistc and greedy arrivistes.
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