Another random / not exciting day, so you know the song! In this case we still have the 5W method (you should read my text about it) to write something anyway and keep moving forward toward my ultimate goal which is reaching a decent level in English 💪🏻. While doing so, I want to introduce you (those who are taking time to read my texts 🙏) to a character you might ignore so far. So the choice is very important and sensitive to a certain extent. Considering that, I think I will go with Mister Yasmina KHADRA, a famous writer in my country Algeria.

Who: In reality, his name is Mohammed MOULESSEHOUL. He chose his Nickname by using the two first name of his wife (Yasmina and Khadra). Isn't it so romantic? He is born in 1955 in a small city called Kenadsa, in the middle of the Sahara desert, south Algeria. At that time, the country was still under the contral of France (Algerai earned his indepence in 1962). His father was by the way a sloder in the liberation army and fought the settelers for years. Mohammed followed the same way of his father and served in the Algerian army for 25 years, reaching a hight ranking. In 2000, he quit his foctions in order to dedicat all his time and energy for writing.

What: In this text I want to focus on Yasmina KHADRA the writer. First and formost, it is worth noticing that he write in French despite being an Algerian, which is by the way something very common. There are plenty of other super famous authors who do the same in Algeria and North Africa in overall. "L'Academie Française" which is basicaly an academy that gathers all the great writers that have had a big impact on our civilisation (a sorte of Hall Of Fame) has some Algerians, morocans and lebanese for exemple. He is known and renowned for writing about the clash of civilisations, and the gap between the West and the Est.

Where: His stories take place in general in places where there is war or an extreme poverty and very bad conditions. You can guess it by the titles actually: The Sirens of Baghdad, The Swallows of Kabul, The Attack, The Africa Equation (which is about the pirates in Somalia...). This last one was by the way the very first Khadra’s book I have ever read. Obviously, he tackle a lot the Algerian war. In his novel "Ce que le jour doit à la nuit" (what the day owes to the night), he spoke about how rude was the separation between the two communities and how we could have done way better! The story has been adapted to a movie which has had a big success both in France and Algeria.

When: I first discovered Yasmina KHADRA when I was in secondary school. As a fan of the author and of reading in general, my father had the whole collection of his books in his library. One summer day, as I was stuck at home doing absolutly nothing, I took the first novel randomly and it was The African Equation. I had planned to read just few pages to make time pass by, I ended up litteraly eating the entire book within few hours.

How: How could you check out Yasmina KHADRA's work? Almost everywhere I would say. His books have been translated in many languages and they are available around the world. I didn't check out but I assume that they are as well available on the digital platforms? You can also find some interesting talks on youtube. Disclaimer: for those who are learning French, he has such a strong Arabic accent when he talks, so maybe it is not the best way for you to learn the language, especialy if you are a beginner.

That is it, thanks for reading me. See you 👋🏻