11) What has been the reaction to your books in Algeria and other Muslim countries? Or does the fact that you live in France answer that question?
Algerian readers like me a lot. They read me in French because I am not translated into Arabic. I am translated into Indonesian, Japanese, Malayalam, in the majority of the languages, except in Arabic. But that has nothing to do with the Arab peoples. It is the leaders who seek, as always, to dissociate the people from the elites so they can continue to reign and cultivate clanism and mediocrity.
12) The Sirens of Baghdad is your new novel. Does it explore the same themes as your earlier books?
(This question got slightly skewed in the translation - instead of themes as we would interpret it, it translated as subject matter – hence the answer)
I never explore the same topic in my books. Each novel deals with a different phenomenon. It is you who do not manage to separate the different subjects I treat. You are constantly in a state of confusion. The Swallows of Kabul speaks about the dictatorship of the Talibans and the condition of the Afghan woman. The Attack speaks about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Sirens of Baghdad speaks about the 2nd war of Iraq. Radically different topics, but everywhere you retain only terrorism, terrorism, terrorism. My novels do not speak about terrorism; they talk of human brittleness, anger, humiliation, the fears, sometimes the hopes; and of this burning and fatuous actuality which spoils our life.
13) What are your plans for the future?
I live from day to day. It is more prudent. I do not make plans; I prefer to take the things as they come.
Article comments
1 - Natalie Bennett
Fascinating Richard, and must have been a huge amount of work - thanks!
2 - Nasra
Thank you for this interview... Its helpful for us to know more about Arab writers who writes in other languges... it give us hope that we can also stand and present our art
3 - Barbara
I've just read The Swallows of Kabul - an exceptional book. Although I was a bit put off by Si Mohamed's dismissive generalisation about the West's ignorance, he is right that the book is not at all about terrorism. It is the truest-sounding description of the tragedy of sexist extremism for the Muslim male mind (he is not so good with the female mind, but that's fine, we have that from enough others) that I have ever read. The other Muslim male authors I know - Mahfouz and Ben Jelloun - have never dared explore this, AFAIK.
4 - Richard Marcus
The question your refer to where M. Khadra makes his comments about the Western mind came about because of misunderstanding caused by my translation of the question into French from English.
So please don't judge his opinions on the West by his answer to that question.
Richard Marcus