The end of desert

The End of the Desert — One day in the fall of 1988, Zakia Zaghouani's body was found dumped in the open desert, and the search for her death began. As they searched for those involved in the singer's murder, the residents gradually discovered their involvement in many other things besides the crime.
The aftermath of the War of Independence casts its shadow over the distant Algerian city. The past keeps the martyrs who represented the image of independence and liberation, while the present reveals the dark side of those who remained. As the investigation progresses, the features of multiple perpetrators emerge in a society fraught with violence: prison inmates, children of a rising bourgeoisie, and then two types of killers... young and old. The events of the novel are set in a desert town in Algeria in 1988. As in Khatibi's previous novels, this one is distinctive with its exceptionally tight plot, as it revolves around the murder of a frivolous hotel singer. Complex investigations begin, and investigators are incapable of reaching a firm conclusion easily, as there are multiple suspects. Through the voices of the novel's narrators, who are the protagonists of the story, the writer delves into the history of colonialism and that of the Algerian war of Independence and its heirs, by recounting the circumstances of the case, which takes place in one month, despite its complexities. The characters accused of killing the singer are not only charged with a criminal offense, but it turns out that they are also concerned with the war's great legacy, each from a different perspective.