C’était notre terre

The Montaigne estate, located somewhere in the Berber Dahra region, has been owned by the Saint-André family for over a century. This is the setting for this captivating ensemble novel, which weaves the complex tapestry of a painful chapter in Algeria’s history through the voices of six characters. By turns triumphant, desperate, imploring, and most often at odds with one another, these voices call out to one another and respond, composing the dirge of colonial Algeria—that of both the victors and the vanquished, now united in the suffering of insurmountable uprooting. Mathieu Belezi’s free and distinctive writing style, along with the novel’s sweeping scope and incantatory rhythm, make it a truly unique work.