This new translation brings together two of Algerian author Maissa Bey's important works for the first time in English. Do You Hear in the Mountains... is a compelling piece of autofiction in which three destinies meet dramatically on a train moving through France. We meet an Algerian refugee, whom recognize as Bey herself. She has escaped the civil war and cannot forget her father's commitment to independence nor his death under the torture of the French soldiers. Sitting near her is a retired doctor whose military service in Algeria coincidentally took him to the same area at the time of that tragedy. Their neighbor is a girl who would like to understand this past that is so painful to discuss. The eleven diverse tales that follow, presented under the title ""Under the Jasmin, at Night,"" exemplify some of Bey's recurring themes-the Franco-Algerian colonial legacy and the feminine condition. Together, these works provide an unforgettable picture of a turbulent history that reaches across generations and continents.

This new translation brings together two of Algerian author Maissa Bey's important works for the first time in English. Do You Hear in the Mountains... is a compelling piece of autofiction in which three destinies meet dramatically on a train moving through France. We meet an Algerian refugee, whom recognize as Bey herself. She has escaped the civil war and cannot forget her father's commitment to independence nor his death under the torture of the French soldiers. Sitting near her is a retired doctor whose military service in Algeria coincidentally took him to the same area at the time of that tragedy. Their neighbor is a girl who would like to understand this past that is so painful to discuss. The eleven diverse tales that follow, presented under the title ""Under the Jasmin, at Night,"" exemplify some of Bey's recurring themes-the Franco-Algerian colonial legacy and the feminine condition. Together, these works provide an unforgettable picture of a turbulent history that reaches across generations and continents.

"Above All, Don't Look Back" follows the path of a young woman--Amina--as 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 Maissa 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