The Earthquake

One afternoon, Shaykh Abdelmajid Boularwah embarks upon a journey. He is looking for distant relatives: Boularwah’s immediate family are ruthless, rich and collaborate with colonial authorities. He hopes his long-lost relatives, who are unknown to the new communist government, might be better placed to help him defraud it.

Through a labyrinth of back alleys and memories, he makes his way from Algiers across the seven bridges of Constantine, battling the forces of a rapidly changing society a...