The Fertility of Evil

“Lakhous…blends a thrilling mystery with an illuminating dive into the history of postcolonial Algeria…At no expense to the tautness of his story or the depth of his characterizations, Lakhous traces a line from the country’s promising independence in 1962 to its struggles with terrorism in the ’90s and the corruption of the Algerian ruling class. Readers will find a lot to enjoy.” —Publishers Weekly “The novel begins with a murder. Then, as the fictional world gradually expands, Amara Lakhous presents us with a gripping story that reflects Algeria’s present reality and the bygone era of revolution against French colonial rule. The author masterfully crafts a fascinating drama with vivid characters whose voices we can almost hear and whose breaths we can practically feel. A beautiful, astonishing, and enjoyable novel. A must-read.” —Alaa Al Aswany, author of The Yacoubian Building “The sun-drenched city of Oran, known to Americans as the setting for Camus’s The Plague, comes alive here in a detective novel that doubles as powerful social critique. The genial and all too human Colonel Soltani of the anti-terrorism squad follows the tragic missteps of a group of men and women who fought in solidarity for Algerian freedom only to destroy one another over six decades of secrets and lies. With a novelist’s ear for dialogue and an anthropologist’s understanding of everyday life, Amara Lakhous invites us into the backrooms of an Algerian elite at war with itself.” —Alice Kaplan, author of Seeing Baya: Portrait of an Algerian Artist in Paris