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Ce que le jour doit à la nuit

Ce que le jour doit à la nuit

Historical FictionContemporary Literature
Pages
360
Published
2008
Language
Catalan

Synopsis

Dans l'Algérie coloniale des années 1930, un jeune garçon voit son père, ruiné et humilié, le confier à son oncle pharmacien installé parmi les Européens. Younes devient Jonas et grandit à Río Salado, petit village viticole de l'Oranais où Arabes et pieds-noirs se côtoient. Partagé entre deux mondes, deux noms et deux fidélités, il connaît une enfance heureuse au sein d'une bande d'amis inséparables.

Mais l'insouciance a une fin. Une jeune femme, Émilie, bouleverse le groupe et scelle les destins ; et l'Histoire, avec la montée des tensions puis la guerre d'indépendance, déchire peu à peu ce fragile équilibre. Écartelé entre ses appartenances et ses amitiés, entre l'amour et la loyauté, Jonas assiste, souvent impuissant, à la fin d'un monde qu'il croyait éternel.

Fresque ample et lumineuse signée Yasmina Khadra, Ce que le jour doit à la nuit retrace un demi-siècle d'histoire algérienne à travers une vie d'homme. C'est un grand roman sur l'identité, l'amour et le déchirement, porté par une prose sensible et nostalgique.

Prose complexity
7/10

Vibe

NostalgicMelancholic
Coming of Age

Genres

Historical Fiction Contemporary Literature History Magical Realism Romance Literary Fiction

Authors

Y
Yasmina Khadra

Yasmina Khadra is the pen name of Mohammed Moulessehoul (born 10 January 1955 in Kénadsa, Béchar Province, Algeria), a former Algerian army officer who served 25 years in the military, including combat command during Algeria's civil war. He began publishing while still serving and adopted his wife's first two names as a pseudonym in 1988 to avoid submitting his manuscripts to military censors; she signed his early publishing contracts in his place. He revealed his true identity in 2001, shortly...

Characters

Jonas/YounesProtagonist
Younes / JonasProtagonist

A boy raised between his Arab family and his pied-noir uncle, caught between two identities as Algeria moves toward war.

ÉmilieSupporting

La jeune femme dont l'amour bouleverse Jonas et ses amis.

Oncle MahiSupporting

Le pharmacien qui recueille et élève Younes.

All characters in Ce que le jour doit à la nuit

Frequently asked questions

  • Is there a film adaptation of this book?

    A feature film adaptation directed by Alexandre Arcady was released in 2012, which captures the narrative arc of the protagonist across the decades depicted in the novel.

  • Does the book have a graphic novel version?

    A graphic novel adaptation illustrated by Marion Duclos and scripted by Stella Lory was published in 2023, offering a visual interpretation of the story.

  • What is the significance of the author's pen name?

    The author, Mohammed Moulessehoul, adopted the pseudonym Yasmina Khadra while serving as an officer in the Algerian army to bypass military censorship during the Algerian Civil War.

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