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A review by yvespiders
Women of Algiers in Their Apartment by Assia Djebar
4.5
Djebar's short story collection is a subversive response to Eugène Delacroix's orientalist painting of the same name and to the patriarchical silencing of women after the Algerian war. Each story stands on their own, though the overarching theme is about the sacrifice women have made to gain independence from France's oppression, and how the very nation they helped free repaid them by hiding and silencing them. The whole collection is absolutely devastating.
I enjoyed some stories more than others and there was one that I still haven't fully wrapped my head around. But if you're able to find this book, i urge you to get it. The two longest stories are outstanding works of art and Djebar's postface is an excellent, post-colonial analysis of the painting by Delacroix.
The eponymous story is my favorite for its well-edited, cinematic images and surrealism. I went back to re-read it after finishing the book and noticed things I hadn't picked up on the first time (e.g., it seems like four characters are re-imagined versions of the four women in Delacroix's painting). I don't usually get attached to short stories because I feel that length is needed to really expand character, but this was one that I felt deep in my soul.
I enjoyed some stories more than others and there was one that I still haven't fully wrapped my head around. But if you're able to find this book, i urge you to get it. The two longest stories are outstanding works of art and Djebar's postface is an excellent, post-colonial analysis of the painting by Delacroix.
The eponymous story is my favorite for its well-edited, cinematic images and surrealism. I went back to re-read it after finishing the book and noticed things I hadn't picked up on the first time (e.g., it seems like four characters are re-imagined versions of the four women in Delacroix's painting). I don't usually get attached to short stories because I feel that length is needed to really expand character, but this was one that I felt deep in my soul.