num_pages: 190
description: Above All Don't Look Back follows the path of a young womanAminaas she makes her way through a city a life and a sense of self that have been ravaged by an earthquake. In this powerful novel inspired by a devastating earthquake in northern Algeria in 2003 the acclaimed Algerian writer Massa Bey skillfully interweaves descriptions of the earthquake with descriptions of Amina's family culture and country and her place within them. She leaves the reader to wonder whether Amina is fleeing the earthquake or something much more complex. Through prose that marries form and content Bey shows the full breadth of her talent. She goes beyond straightforward journalistic narrative to represent the inner experience of a victim of a natural disaster. The novel's nonlinear structure and deliberate incoherence plunge the reader into a state of disorientation that will especially resonate for survivors of other natural disasters worldwide. In linking a particular place context and event to themes of identity family and the relation of the individual to the group and of religion to society Above All Don't Look Back explores psychological and social issues of universal relevance. CARAF: Caribbean and African Literature Translated from the French
language: English
title: Above All, Don't Look Back
publisher: University of Virginia Press