A Bookshop in Algiers by Kaouther Adimi

Summary
'A beautiful little novel about books, history, ambition and the importance of literature.' Nick Hornby
'Truly potent ... Adimi confronts us with episodes that are simply never spoken of in France' The New York Times Book Review

In 1936, a young dreamer named Edmond Charlot opened a modest bookshop in Algiers. Once the heart of Algerian cultural life, where Camus launched his first book and the Free French printed propaganda during the war, Charlot's beloved bookshop has been closed for decades, living on as a government lending library. Now it is to be shuttered forever. But as a young man named Ryad empties it of its books, he begins to understand that a bookshop can be much more than just a shop that sells books.

A Bookshop in Algiers charts the changing fortunes of Charlot's bookshop through the political drama of Algeria's turbulent twentieth century of war, revolution and independence. It is a moving celebration of books, bookshops and of those who dare to dream.


Published: 20 May 2021