The Bridges of Constantine

(Paperback)

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Khaled, a former revolutionary in the Algerian war of liberation has been in self-exile in Paris for two decades, disgusted by the corruption that now riddles the country he once fought for. Now a celebrated painter, Khaled is consumed with passion for Hayat, the daughter of his old revolutionary commander, who unexpectedly reenters Khaleds life. Hayat had been just a child when he last saw her, but she has now become a seductive young novelist.

The first novel in an award-winning, bestselling trilogy that spans Algerias tumultuous recent history,The Bridges of Constantine is a lyrical and heartrending love story.

Reviews

Remarkable, insightful ... The elegiac quality is present not just in the themes, but also in the astonishingly poetic language throughout I stopped and marvelled every few pages ... This is one of the richest and most evocative books that I have read all year, I only hope we dont have to wait too long for the two sequels to The Bridges of Constantine to be published in English. The Arab-speaking world shouldnt get to keep Mosteghanemis novels all to itself * Independent *
A window into a different world * Daily Mail *
Mosteghanemi is a good storyteller, and her plot picks up when it moves to the Maghreb. She delivers a scathing portrait of Algerias corrupt leadership * Independent *
Ahlem has carved a place for herself as one of the most important writers of the Arab world * Youssef Chahine, Egyptian director, winner of the Cannes Film Lifetime Achievement Award *

Author Bio

Algerian novelist and poet Ahlem Mosteghanemi is the bestselling female author in the Arab world. In December 2016 she was designated UNESCO Artist for Peace. She has more than 10 million followers on Facebook, 435 thousand followers on Twitter and was ranked in the top ten most influential women in the Middle East by Forbes in 2006. The Arabic original of this title (Dhakirat al-Jasad) was awarded the 1998 Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature (founded in honour of the Nobel laureate). It is the first in a trilogy of bestselling novels and has since been translated into several languages and been adapted into a television series. Ahlem lives in Beirut.

@AhlamMostghanmi

Raphael Cohen studied Arabic at Oxford University and the University of Chicago, and now lives and works in Cairo.