The Savage Night

"The Savage Night" collects thirteen stories by Mohammed Dib, one of the founding fathers of North African literature.

Whether set in present-day Algeria, depicting the war for independence, or evoking memories of the colonial era, many of the stories in "The Savage Night" paint a vivid picture of the diverse facets of the Algerian question.

Dib's other settings include Latin America, war-torn Sarajevo, and Paris.

A major element unifying his work is the unanswered question of human brutality.

In the face of our shameful indifference, Dib shows us that senseless violence is a daily reality for many. "The Savage Night" is the first book-length English translation of Dib's work.

Mohammed Dib was born in western Algeria in 1920. He was exiled in 1959 and took up residence in France, where he still lives.A prolific novelist and poet, he was awarded the Grand Prix de la Francophonie de l'Academie Francaise in 1994 - the first person of North African descent to be so honored.

C. Dickson is a freelance translator who lives in Grenoble, France.

Her translations include Shams Nadir's "The Astrolabe of the Sea". 'Dusk came, not drifting in from the sky in successive waves, but creeping in little by little from the walls, the outer edges of the patio, already more than half dissolved in a dim haze, and stopped, sparing the players, at the rim of the impregnable circle of light they were setting in the center of.

It had never occurred to the man to scrutinize the young terrorist so closely before, above all, he had probably wanted to avoid doing so, avoid having to confront the feelings that the pale face, outlined with the dark beginnings of a beard, would inspire in him'.