The Nile of the Living

by Mohamed Abdallah

Description

“In the old days, passing on an inheritance was rarely an issue. Oh, there were always old men to complain about the folly of the new generations and cheeky brats ready to mock their elders, but, on the whole, the world of sons resembled that of fathers, and the lessons of the latter were passed on without much difficulty. Today, each era seems to create its own world, bringing its own new life into it. The challenge is not to lose sight of the aspects of continuity that reign from one era to the next.” Mohamed Abdallah Egypt, its neighbors. Cairo, a city that has created an arena for itself between the jaws of the desert. Its river emerges from elsewhere, the Nile, always there, meandering amiably between Cairo's buildings, sometimes disappearing behind a mosque or cinema, before reappearing for good, an ancient comrade in a procession backwards through the decades. Its nourishing trickles are laden with secrets, the destinies of men and women and the mysteries of millennia. One era? No, several. At the beginning, or rather at the end, two novelists, two cousins who don't know each other but remember the same universe. In their books, they recount its beauty, greatness and pettiness, successes and failings. The root of this painful poetics? A revived horizon, refracted from one era to the next. Revolutions wished for, sung about, mourned. A world, several continents believing themselves to be in the hollow of a valley where faces emerge, voices rise, psalms are declaimed, music dances, scents run through the streets... Oumm Koulthoum, Youcef Cha-hine, Tawfiq al-Hakim, Ahmad Shawqi, Cheikh Imam, Fouad Nagm, Soad Hosny and... take their place at Café Isfet in the El Gamaliyya district. Broken, twisted, surviving, magnificent friendships. Unspoken loves, over-thought, under-experienced. Good-natured, jovial, albeit frazzled, witnesses. And, in the midst of this field of superb ruins, life, its aspirations, the arts and their.

More Information

Rights Information

free

Author Biography

Mohamed Abdallah is the author of several books: ‘‘Entre l'Algérie et la France il n'y a qu'une seule Page’’ (2017), ‘‘Souvenez-vous de nos Sœurs de la Soummam’’ (2018), ‘‘Aux Portes de Cirta’’ (2019). His novel ‘‘Le Vent a dit son Nom’’ (Apic, 2021) won the Grand Prix Assia Djebar 2022 and the Prix Ahmed Baba de la rentrée littéraire du Mali 2023. With ‘‘Le Nil des Vivants’’, his fifth novel, the author has put his pen firmly on the walking contemporary Algerian literature.

Trusted Partner
2024 Frankfurt Invitation Programme

Apic éditions

Apic éditions is an Algerian and North African publishing house known for its continental roots. With a vision of openness, its editorial line responds to a Southern orientation that carries projects, promotes ideas, and generates debate.

View all titles

Bibliographic Information

  • Publisher/Imprint Apic éditions / Algeria
  • Publication Date October 2023
  • Orginal LanguageFrench
  • ISBN/Identifier 9789969525045
  • Publication Country or regionAlgeria
  • FormatHardback
  • Primary Price 25 EUR
  • Pages416
  • ReadershipGeneral
  • Publish StatusPublished
  • Original Language TitleLe Nil des vivants
  • Original Language Authorsfre
  • EditionApic éditions
  • Copyright Year2023
  • Dimensions160X240 mm

Subscribe to our

newsletter