“The End of the Sahara” by Saïd Khatibi (Algeria)
Winner of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award 2023 – Young Author category
Synopsis
Set in 1988 Algeria,the story takes place in just forty days, ending as mass protests erupt in the country. In a small town on the edge of the desert, plagued by a locust infestation and a food shortage, teetering on the brink of uprising, the body of Zakia Zaghouani –the singer at the Sahara Hotel –is discovered. Suspicion immediately falls on her lover, who is thrown into prison. The incompetent and greedy Inspector Hamid begins an investigation. So does the defence lawyer of the main suspect. Family, friends, and close ones give their testimonies, finding themselves confronted with their past. Secrets, betrayals, grudges, dreams, and hopes shed light on their connection to the victim: each person harbours, for one reason or another, the desire to take revenge on her.
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Review
“The End of the Sahara” is an easy, quick read with an interesting voice and an evocative sense of Algeria, particularly in the way it ties personal lives to the broader backdrop of independence. Its short chapters help keep the pace moving, and the glossary of characters is genuinely helpful in navigating a narrative that introduces a large number of people. Readers appreciated how the past is evoked through events rather than specific dates, giving the story a more lived-in, immediate quality.
As a crime novel, the large ensemble of characters serves an important structural purpose, with many figures positioned as potential suspects leading up to the final reveal. While this helps sustain intrigue, readers agreed that it also made the narrative feel too crowded, with some characters lacking clearly differentiated voices. The overall tone is bleak and unsentimental, which further limits emotional attachment to the cast. Even so, Khatibi’s (over) ambition in blending a murder mystery with reflections on Algeria’s historical memory gives the novel a scope that reaches beyond a conventional whodunit, though it didn’t fully draw the readers in.
This extra book of Season 26 scored 6.3 out of 10.
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Nicola’s Book Club reading list
Season 26 – Book Award Winners (Nov 2025 – Jun 2026)
“Against The Loveless World” by Susan Abulhawa (Palestine) – Winner of the Palestine Book Award 2020
“A Brief History of Seven Killings” by Marlon James (Jamaica) – Winner of the Man Booker Prize 2015
“Lost Children Archive” by Valeria Luiselli (Mexico) – Winner of the Dublin Literary Award 2021
“The Garden of Evening Mists” by Tan Twan Eng (Malaysia) * – Winner of the Man Asian Literary Prize 2012
Extra book:
“The End of the Sahara” by Saïd Khatibi (Algeria) – Winner of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award 2023
* The book club favourite
In italics, Nicola’s Coup de Cœur