La joie ennemie

Description

Kaouther Adimi spends a night at the Arab World Institute to recount the story of Baya, the prodigious Algerian painter celebrated by Matisse and Picasso; but in the silence of the museum, another story emerges.

In 1994, as Algeria descended into violence, her parents decided to return there with their children. The day after their arrival, the family car encounters a fake roadblock manned by the GIA, the Armed Islamic Group, the first event in a series of tragedies linked to the black decade.

Why did her parents want to return when everyone else who could was fleeing the country? How can you build a life for yourself when the past haunts you and consumes your nights?

The author confronts her memories, attempts to fill in the silences, and bring to light what has been buried. She explores what we pass on, what we keep quiet, and what we reclaim.

A powerful text in which art is a luminous counterpoint to obscurantism.