Haizia

Author's name: Wasini Al-A'raj

The novel reconstructs the well-known Algerian love story of "Haizia," sung by most Algerian artists of all generations. The story actually took place in the Ziban oases in the second half of the 19th century. After extensive research by the author, spanning more than three years, numerous trips to the scene, and interviews with southern Saharan sheikhs and elderly women historically close to the story's events, new facts were revealed to him, including that "Haizia" was tragically killed, not a natural death. And that the poet Muhammad ibn Qaytun, who immortalized her in his great elegy bearing her name, was the true lover, not his friend Sa'id, who was nothing more than a literary and moral mask.

Khaled, the novel's hero, will embark on a dangerous adventure like a police detective to uncover the hidden secret behind Haizia's story, and present to our astonished eyes the details of a love story that was not destined to live. A simple love affair on the surface, complex at its core, concealing layers of tribal and political conflict and mutual collusion with French colonialism.

(Haizia) is a novel, not a history. It is a metaphor for a living and beautiful Algeria, vulnerable to all its destructive pitfalls, violations, and pitfalls.