Join for a talk with author Amara Lakhous.
AUTHOR TALK DETAILS
4/28/2026 at 7:00pm
Seattle Public Library – Central
1000 4th Ave
Seattle, WA 98104
About the Author:
Amara Lakhous was born in Algeria in 1970 and lived in Italy for eighteen years before moving to the United States in 2014. A bilingual novelist in Arabic and Italian, he is the author of Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio, a bestseller translated into ten languages and adapted into a film in 2010. He is currently a professor in the practice in the Department of Italian Studies at Yale University.
About the Book:
A criminal investigation plumbs the seedy underbelly of Oran in this heady psychological thriller spanning the history of postcolonial Algeria.
Oran, July 5, 2018. Independence Day. Colonel Soltani of the Anti-Terrorism Unit reluctantly gives up his holiday after his superior officer tracks him down at his girlfriend’s home. A former National Liberation Front fighter and Algerian power broker has been found dead, his throat slit and face mutilated. Pressured to close this high-profile case quickly, Soltani and his team delve into the victim’s past from the 1950s, uncovering the secrets of a revolutionary cell whose three remaining members have become prime suspects.
Set in a post-independence era marred by corruption, this dark, captivating novel unfolds in contrasting landscapes of dilapidated historic quarters and opulent new districts, revealing Algeria’s struggle against deceit and betrayal.
