Boualem Sansal
Encyclopedia
Boualem Sansal is an internationally acclaimed Algerian author.
Boualem Sansal was born in Algeria
in 1949. Trained as an engineer with a doctorate in economics, he began writing novel
s at the age of 50 after retiring from his job as a high-ranking official in the Algerian government. The assassination of President Boudiaf in 1992 and the rise of Islamic fundamentalism
in Algeria inspired him to write about his country.
Sansal writes in French
and his work has won top literary awards in France
, among them the Prix du Premier Roman in 1999. His debut novel
was Le serment des Barbares (Gallimard, 1999), which has now been made into a film based on a screenplay
by Jorge Semprún.
Sansal's latest novel, Le village de l'Allemand ou le journal des frères Schiller, is the story of two Algerian brothers who burrow into the past and discover that their father had been a Nazi officer who fled to Algeria after the war. The book explores the fine line between Islamic fundamentalism
and Nazism
. Le Village de l'allemand is the first of Sansal's novels to be translated into English, and was published in the US as The German Mujahid and in the UK as An Unfinished Business
Sansal continues to live with his wife and two daughters in Algeria despite the controversy his books have aroused in his homeland. At the 2007 International Festival of Literature in Berlin
, he was introduced as a writer "exiled in his own country." He claims that Algeria is becoming a bastion of Islamic extremism
and the country is losing its intellectual and moral underpinnings.
Since the publication of Poste restante: Alger. Lettre de colère et d'espoir à mes compatriotes in 2006, Sansal's books have been banned in Algeria.
On 16 October 2011 Sansal received the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade
.
1989 : La Mesure de la productivité, OPU, Alger
Boualem Sansal was born in Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
in 1949. Trained as an engineer with a doctorate in economics, he began writing novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s at the age of 50 after retiring from his job as a high-ranking official in the Algerian government. The assassination of President Boudiaf in 1992 and the rise of Islamic fundamentalism
Islamic fundamentalism
Islamic fundamentalism is a term used to describe religious ideologies seen as advocating a return to the "fundamentals" of Islam: the Quran and the Sunnah. Definitions of the term vary. According to Christine L...
in Algeria inspired him to write about his country.
Sansal writes in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and his work has won top literary awards in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, among them the Prix du Premier Roman in 1999. His debut novel
Debut novel
A debut novel is the first novel an author publishes. Debut novels are the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to publish in the future...
was Le serment des Barbares (Gallimard, 1999), which has now been made into a film based on a screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
by Jorge Semprún.
Sansal's latest novel, Le village de l'Allemand ou le journal des frères Schiller, is the story of two Algerian brothers who burrow into the past and discover that their father had been a Nazi officer who fled to Algeria after the war. The book explores the fine line between Islamic fundamentalism
Islamic fundamentalism
Islamic fundamentalism is a term used to describe religious ideologies seen as advocating a return to the "fundamentals" of Islam: the Quran and the Sunnah. Definitions of the term vary. According to Christine L...
and Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
. Le Village de l'allemand is the first of Sansal's novels to be translated into English, and was published in the US as The German Mujahid and in the UK as An Unfinished Business
Sansal continues to live with his wife and two daughters in Algeria despite the controversy his books have aroused in his homeland. At the 2007 International Festival of Literature in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, he was introduced as a writer "exiled in his own country." He claims that Algeria is becoming a bastion of Islamic extremism
Islamic extremism
Islamic extremism refers to two related and partially overlapping but also distinct aspects of extremist interpretations and pursuits of Islamic ideology:...
and the country is losing its intellectual and moral underpinnings.
Since the publication of Poste restante: Alger. Lettre de colère et d'espoir à mes compatriotes in 2006, Sansal's books have been banned in Algeria.
On 16 October 2011 Sansal received the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade
Peace Prize of the German Book Trade
The Peace Prize of the German Book Trade is an international peace prize given yearly at the Frankfurt Book Fair in the Paulskirche in Frankfurt am Main, Germany...
.
Novels
- 1999 : Le Serment des barbares, Gallimard. Prix du Premier Roman 1999. Prix Tropiques, AFD, 1999
- 2000 : L'Enfant fou de l'arbre creux, Gallimard. Prix Michel Dard
- 2003 : Dis-moi le paradis, Gallimard
- 2005 : Harraga, Gallimard
- 2008 : Le village de l'Allemand ou le journal des frères Schiller, Gallimard - Grand Prix RTL-Lire 2008, le Grand Prix de la francophonie 2008 -Prix Nessim Habif- (Académie royale de langue et de littérature françaises de Belgique). translated by Frank WynneFrank WynneFrank Wynne is an Irish literary translator and writer.Born in Co. Sligo, Ireland, he worked as a comics editor at Fleetway and later at Deadline magazine . He worked for a time at AOL before becoming a literary translator...
and published in the US as The German Mujahid (2009) and in the UK as An Unfinished Business
Short stories
- 2001 : La voix, Gallimard-Le Monde
- 2005 : La vérité est dans nos amours perdues, in "Des nouvelles d'Algérie", ed Métailié
- 2004 : La Femme sans nom. Littera et l’Aube.
- 2005 : Homme simple cherche évènement heureux, Le Monde.
- 2005 : Tous les bonheurs ne valent pas le déplacement, Magazine des Beaux Arts.
- 2006 : La Terrible nouvelle. Le Monde.
Essays
- 2006 : Poste restante : Alger, lettre de colère et d'espoir à mes compatriotes, Gallimard
- 2007 : Petit éloge de la mémoire, Gallimard
Technical literature
1986 : La Combustion dans les turboréacteurs, OPU, Alger.1989 : La Mesure de la productivité, OPU, Alger