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- ISBN: 9780813928432 | 0813928435
- Cover: Hardcover
- Copyright: 10/15/2009
Above All, Don't Look Backfollows the path of a young woman--Amina--as she makes her way through a city, alife, and a sense of self that have been ravaged by an earthquake. In this powerfulnovel, inspired by a devastating earthquake in northern Algeria in 2003, theacclaimed Algerian writer Maïssa Bey skillfully interweaves descriptions of theearthquake with descriptions of Amina's family, culture, and country and her placewithin them. She leaves the reader to wonder whether Amina is fleeing the earthquakeor something much more complex.Through prose thatmarries form and content, Bey shows the full breadth of her talent. She goes beyondstraightforward journalistic narrative to represent the inner experience of a victimof a natural disaster. The novel's nonlinear structure and deliberate incoherenceplunge the reader into a state of disorientation that will especially resonate forsurvivors of other natural disasters worldwide.In linking a particular place,context, and event to themes of identity, family, and the relation of the individualto the group and of religion to society, Above All, Don't LookBack explores psychological and social issues of universalrelevance.CARAF: Caribbean andAfrican Literature Translated from the French