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_rusalka's review against another edition
3.0
This book was really uncomfortable, particularly the more you went on. This is completely the personification of the path to fundamentalism in a narrative. Young guy who has had glimpses of success although poor.
Most importantly rejected and discarded, but accepted by religion/fundamentalism, and given a purpose. Overt attempts are rejected, but the insidious, prolonged attempts with purpose and responsibility and community start seeping in. Disenfranchised youth who are presented with a meaning to it all and a place of belonging will go anywhere. And these manipulators know it.
And that is why we see Nafa the aspiring actor switch to Nafa the terrorist commander. And it's gradual. It takes you almost by surprise as you go along with him. It's believably written. You gasp at decisions but you understand them. As much as you swear you wouldn't do the same. But if you were in that situation...
It was a 3.5 star, but I rounded down as I wouldn't read again. Just my stomach couldn't deal with some decisions. Doesn't mean others should not as I believe it is an important insight to what we in the West can't seem to comprehend. Even though the same thing is happening our countries with our disenfranchised youths.
Most importantly rejected and discarded, but accepted by religion/fundamentalism, and given a purpose. Overt attempts are rejected, but the insidious, prolonged attempts with purpose and responsibility and community start seeping in. Disenfranchised youth who are presented with a meaning to it all and a place of belonging will go anywhere. And these manipulators know it.
And that is why we see Nafa the aspiring actor switch to Nafa the terrorist commander. And it's gradual. It takes you almost by surprise as you go along with him. It's believably written. You gasp at decisions but you understand them. As much as you swear you wouldn't do the same. But if you were in that situation...
It was a 3.5 star, but I rounded down as I wouldn't read again. Just my stomach couldn't deal with some decisions. Doesn't mean others should not as I believe it is an important insight to what we in the West can't seem to comprehend. Even though the same thing is happening our countries with our disenfranchised youths.
violainend's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
glains's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
claneebook's review against another edition
4.0
Yasmina Khadra réussit parfaitement à décrire l’évolution de la société algérienne à la fin des années 80, comment le pays tombe dans le chaos et la terreur, et comment un jeune homme tombe dans le terrorisme malgré lui. Le livre m’a beaucoup fait penser à Khalil, mais dans le contexte des années noires en Algérie
douaaa's review against another edition
4.0
Étant quelqu’un qui n’a pas connu les événements de la décennie noire dieu merci ce fut choquant et très intéressant à lire je ne pu m’arrêter pour demander des renseignements à mon père (qui trouve que c’est une lecture que je ne devrai faire au vu des récits choquants tirés de faits réels) mais je suis ravi et confuse d’avoir pu lire cela venant d’une famille très musulmane ayant grandi en apprenant la religion depuis l’enfance et ayant passé une bonne partie de ma vie à lire des livres religieux je me vois comprendre d’où est venu l’idée je me vois comprendre le pourquoi je me vois pas pardonner mais je me vois compréhensive de l’idéologie le reste est vraiment condamnable notre religion ne permet rien de cela elle ne se voit pas tué femmes enfants vieux et jeunes pour rien ou des futilité mais pour des crimes de mort ect…. Je ne peux dire autre que c’est terroristes se sont égarés que leur foie a vrillé et qu’ils ont réécrit à quoi bon leur semble la parole de dieu pour servir les graines de mal qui semence en nous tous mais que nous gardons emprisonnées
nawalb's review
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
dreameuse's review against another edition
4.0
La chose que j'ai le plus apprécié dans ce roman est certainement le style de l'auteur. Il a tendance à personnaliser des éléments comme la ville, les foules etc et ça donne de belles descriptions très imagées et vivantes. J'étais cependant moins fan des changements dans la narration (1ère / 3ème personne). J'imagine qu'ils étaient là pour marquer le niveau de contrôle et de détachement qu'avait Nafa sur ses actions mais ça m'a plus sortie de la lecture qu'autre chose.
A part ça, l'histoire est intéressante, mais ne m'aura honnêtement pas marquée plus que ça. J'aime bien la transition graduelle entre Nafa et son radicalisme (même si c'est ce qu'on peut attendre).
N'étant pas familière avec la culture algérienne, j'ai dû faire des recherches pour bien comprendre les enjeux dont il était question (par exemple les différents partis politique et leur idealogie).
"Tu voulais être acteur, décrocher les rôles qui te projetteraient au firmament. Eh bien, je te les accorde : je te propose le ciel pour écran, et Dieu pour spectateur. Montre donc l'étendue de ton talent."
Ce passage m'a vraiment touchée, d'autant plus qu'on savait à quel point Nafa voulait être acteur.
A part ça, l'histoire est intéressante, mais ne m'aura honnêtement pas marquée plus que ça. J'aime bien la transition graduelle entre Nafa et son radicalisme (même si c'est ce qu'on peut attendre).
N'étant pas familière avec la culture algérienne, j'ai dû faire des recherches pour bien comprendre les enjeux dont il était question (par exemple les différents partis politique et leur idealogie).
"Tu voulais être acteur, décrocher les rôles qui te projetteraient au firmament. Eh bien, je te les accorde : je te propose le ciel pour écran, et Dieu pour spectateur. Montre donc l'étendue de ton talent."
Ce passage m'a vraiment touchée, d'autant plus qu'on savait à quel point Nafa voulait être acteur.
alicias_books's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
shereadsox's review against another edition
5.0
Ok so this book. Let's talk about this book. It's really hard to talk about this book. See, I've already written 3 sentences without saying anything specific. Told you, tough one this book.
À quoi revent les loups (Wolf Dreams) by Yasmina Khadra is the story of a boy, Nada Walid, during the darkest years of Algeria. No, I'm not talking about the war of Independence, but the years when extremism, terrorism, integrism (?) Almost ruled the entire country. Late 80s, Nafa Walid wants to be an actor, it's his dream, but Algeria wasn't ready to give its full attention to artists and to help them live off their dreams. The youth was roaming the streets of the Casbah and killing time at cafés, there was no job for artists, there was no future for them as artists. Nafa's family is poor, his father is retired, they need money so Nafa starts working as a driver of one of RICHEST family in Algiers. But this job required him to do more than just drive. And there is this one episode that is the final straw and he quits. He quits and he's about to go crazy, until that one day when he hears the call to prayer and he's at peace. So he turns to religion which is good at first. Yes at first because from then on it only gets bad for him and for the country. Radicalism. Terrorism.
This is the story of Nafa but it's also the story of hundreds and thousands of young other Nafas, other young people who dreamed of something but couldn't reach their goal, they were vulnerable enough to be convinced by radicalists to join their cause. What I really liked about this book is that it's very topical, the story happened in the late 80s but it's about terrorism and today all we hear about is terrorism. So if you want to know more about this species (lol sorry I can't say humans) And you're looking for accurate information this book is what you need. We all know getting information about terrorism from TV is THE worst idea.
That's one thing about this book: good source of information, topical, accurate, you get an insight of what terrorism is.
But there is something else, and here it's much more personal, because I'm Algerian (and French) and this book made me open a very hard topic with my mother. My mother lived in Algeria during these years of terrorism and she has witnessed some awful things (very well described in the book). It was almost hard for me to believe that these horrors really happened so each time I would read something I would ask confirmation from my mom and that's how we ended up discussing this period for hours (she would mostly do the talking part and I would the listening part). It was a time when being a police officer was the worst job you could have, police officers were the first target of terrorists. My mom told me that one of her neighbors had a son who was a police officer and he was butchered by terrorists and they had sent his mother his head. And she lost it. She became crazy. They also kidnapped people if they couldn't recruit anyone and made them work for them. My mom told me she used to sleep with all of the lights on to let them think everyone was still awake (my dad was in France at the time so she was left on her own at a very dangerous time with her kids) or sometimes her brothers would stay home with her. Falling sound asleep at that time was impossible. One of my Mom's friend has been deeply mentally affected by what she had witnessed, she used to live in a village far from the city and that's where terrorists were. They usually stick to mountains and small villages (you can see that in the book too) and there were a lot of them where she lived. It really opened a old wound and I'm sorry for that but it helped me get more knowledge about this period in Algeria.
Also FIY: the two leaders of the FIS (Front Islamique du Salut - The Islamic Salvation front) are still alive one of them Ali Belhadj is living in Algeria while the other one Abbassi Madani is living in Qatar. The focus of this novel wasn't the leaders of the party but the ordinary people who joined the cause, and it really showed how in the end religion was just a pretext their real goal was power and they would do everything to get it. It showed how terrorists operate what's in their mind how "religious" and "pious" they are. It's a short book but has all the essentials so I can't help but recommend it to anyone and everyone! if you're reading this review and haven't read the book yet please pick it up and start reading!
À quoi revent les loups (Wolf Dreams) by Yasmina Khadra is the story of a boy, Nada Walid, during the darkest years of Algeria. No, I'm not talking about the war of Independence, but the years when extremism, terrorism, integrism (?) Almost ruled the entire country. Late 80s, Nafa Walid wants to be an actor, it's his dream, but Algeria wasn't ready to give its full attention to artists and to help them live off their dreams. The youth was roaming the streets of the Casbah and killing time at cafés, there was no job for artists, there was no future for them as artists. Nafa's family is poor, his father is retired, they need money so Nafa starts working as a driver of one of RICHEST family in Algiers. But this job required him to do more than just drive. And there is this one episode that is the final straw and he quits. He quits and he's about to go crazy, until that one day when he hears the call to prayer and he's at peace. So he turns to religion which is good at first. Yes at first because from then on it only gets bad for him and for the country. Radicalism. Terrorism.
This is the story of Nafa but it's also the story of hundreds and thousands of young other Nafas, other young people who dreamed of something but couldn't reach their goal, they were vulnerable enough to be convinced by radicalists to join their cause. What I really liked about this book is that it's very topical, the story happened in the late 80s but it's about terrorism and today all we hear about is terrorism. So if you want to know more about this species (lol sorry I can't say humans) And you're looking for accurate information this book is what you need. We all know getting information about terrorism from TV is THE worst idea.
That's one thing about this book: good source of information, topical, accurate, you get an insight of what terrorism is.
But there is something else, and here it's much more personal, because I'm Algerian (and French) and this book made me open a very hard topic with my mother. My mother lived in Algeria during these years of terrorism and she has witnessed some awful things (very well described in the book). It was almost hard for me to believe that these horrors really happened so each time I would read something I would ask confirmation from my mom and that's how we ended up discussing this period for hours (she would mostly do the talking part and I would the listening part). It was a time when being a police officer was the worst job you could have, police officers were the first target of terrorists. My mom told me that one of her neighbors had a son who was a police officer and he was butchered by terrorists and they had sent his mother his head. And she lost it. She became crazy. They also kidnapped people if they couldn't recruit anyone and made them work for them. My mom told me she used to sleep with all of the lights on to let them think everyone was still awake (my dad was in France at the time so she was left on her own at a very dangerous time with her kids) or sometimes her brothers would stay home with her. Falling sound asleep at that time was impossible. One of my Mom's friend has been deeply mentally affected by what she had witnessed, she used to live in a village far from the city and that's where terrorists were. They usually stick to mountains and small villages (you can see that in the book too) and there were a lot of them where she lived. It really opened a old wound and I'm sorry for that but it helped me get more knowledge about this period in Algeria.
Also FIY: the two leaders of the FIS (Front Islamique du Salut - The Islamic Salvation front) are still alive one of them Ali Belhadj is living in Algeria while the other one Abbassi Madani is living in Qatar. The focus of this novel wasn't the leaders of the party but the ordinary people who joined the cause, and it really showed how in the end religion was just a pretext their real goal was power and they would do everything to get it. It showed how terrorists operate what's in their mind how "religious" and "pious" they are. It's a short book but has all the essentials so I can't help but recommend it to anyone and everyone! if you're reading this review and haven't read the book yet please pick it up and start reading!