La Negresse

"I had the privilege of reading Algerian author Aïcha Bennour's work before its release. La Négresse, the novel's title, captivates readers with its rich and metaphorical meaning that glorifies dark beauty. The introduction, the second threshold of a book, shows the author's intellect and invites readers to explore the narrative's distinctive stylistic stamp that distinguishes this Algerian writer from her colleagues. The novel's environment and heroine, Blanca, are described in detail, creating an interesting spatiality and geography. This strange location makes you feel like a traveler and a learner, piercing societal cracks. This taboo-filled Nigerien terrain is a microcosm of many African communities, where women's excision is a dark side of continuous retreat. The author consciously addresses this subject, and her lucidity supports feminist literary critique, which holds that only a woman can narrate her body and spirit. Bennour masterfully uses the novel form to allow her heroine, Blanca, to express herself in the first person, which, while difficult to follow the plot, allows her to reveal her sufferings with sincere spontaneity and complete freedom, immersing the reader in her society's harsh realities. Thus, Bennour devotes a large part of her novel to illegal immigration, detailing its hardships and pains from the inception of the idea to the meager means used to realize such a dangerous and uncertain project. The narrative's dual voice switches with events, giving different people a voice and enriching the language. The sentences are energized by well-crafted verbs that follow the action and describe a character's psychological condition in poetic language that satisfies the reader. This work enriches Arabic and African literature." Azzedine Mirgheni, Literary Critic