The Star of Algiers

A Lannan Translation Selection: Funding the translation and publication of exceptional literary works

“Chouaki’s vocabulary is a synthesis of Algiers slang, rock’n’roll refrains, and the language of Celine. The combination produces an immediate identification with the character….The rival of Michael Jackson becomes a slave to an angry God. There isn’t a single labored description in the book: everything is humane, alive, transparent. This is worth a thousand scholarly explanations for September 11th.” —Elle (France)

Moussa Massy has plans that extend far beyond the three-room apartment that he shares with thirteen family members in Algeria. A gifted singer of modern Kabyl song, he is as inspired by Prince and Michael Jackson as he is by Arab and Algerian traditional music. His first taste of fame, however, is brief as the conflict between the fundamental Islamic group FIS, and the more progressive FLN, grows more violent and the city falls to its knees amid corruption and scandal. As his music career begins to disintegrate, like the city itself, Massy’s driving passion for music turns into an unforgiving rage.

In energetic, urgent prose, Chouaki vividly portrays the harsh realities of a country in constant turmoil and brilliantly shows the capacity for despair and hatred for those who have nothing left to lose. Available for the first time in English, The Star of Algiers, a novel of great passion and originality, speaks to the most contentious issues of our time.