Salim Bachi (born 1971, Algiers) is an Algerian novelist who grew up in

Annaba Annaba ( ar, عنّابة, "Place of the Jujubes"; ber, Aânavaen), formerly known as Bon, Bona and Bône, is a seaport city in the northeastern corner of Algeria, close to the border with Tunisia. Annaba is near the small Seybouse River ...

, eastern Algeria. After a one-year stay in Paris in 1995, he returned there in 1997 to study literature. A pensioner at the

French Academy in Rome The French Academy in Rome (french: Académie de France à Rome) is an Academy located in the Villa Medici, within the Villa Borghese, on the Pincio (Pincian Hill) in Rome, Italy. History The Academy was founded at the Palazzo Capranica in ...

in 2005, he now lives and works in Paris.

Biography

Born in 1971 in Algiers, he studied literature in Paris at the Sorbonne and in 2001 published his first novel, ''Le Chien d'Ulysse'', at

Éditions Gallimard Éditions Gallimard (), formerly Éditions de la Nouvelle Revue Française (1911–1919) and Librairie Gallimard (1919–1961), is one of the leading French book publishers. In 2003 it and its subsidiaries published 1,418 titles. Founded by Ga ...

, hailed by critics and rewarded by the

prix Goncourt du premier roman The Prix Goncourt (french: Le prix Goncourt, , ''The Goncourt Prize'') is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward o ...

. In Algeria he became "the most talented writer of his generation", embarking on an ambitious literary work on Algeria, its history, from colonization to the most recent black episodes, marked by Islamist terrorism. His first two novels are part of a novel cycle developed from an imaginary city, the ancient Cyrtha. After a year of residence at the prestigious Villa Médicis in Rome, his third novel, ''Tuez-les tous'' ("Kill them all"), marked a turning point in his inspiration with the choice of a complex and painful subject. He put himself in the shoes of a terrorist of September 11, dissecting the mechanisms of violence and alienation of terrorists. He pursues the novelistic study of the religious fact - a never innocent choice - with his last novel ''Le silence de Mahomet'', published in September 2008 and selected for the

Prix Goncourt The Prix Goncourt (french: Le prix Goncourt, , ''The Goncourt Prize'') is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward o ...

, the Prix Goncourt des Lycéens and the

Prix Renaudot The Prix Théophraste-Renaudot or Prix Renaudot () is a French literary award. History The prize was created in 1926 by ten art critics awaiting the results of deliberation of the jury of the Prix Goncourt. While not officially related to the ...

. In this book, the Prophet becomes the subject of a novel where four of his closest faithful, remember the man he was, with his doubts and hopes, weaknesses and greatness. Bachi achieved a critical and public success. Salim Bachi travels through Europe and the Maghreb to defend a certain idea of literature, giving lectures to students, readers, universities and cultural institutes. A resident at the

Académie de France à Rome The French Academy in Rome (french: Académie de France à Rome) is an Academy located in the Villa Medici, within the Villa Borghese, on the Pincio (Pincian Hill) in Rome, Italy. History The Academy was founded at the Palazzo Capranica in ...

in 2005, he now lives and works in Paris. The éditions Gallimard published five of his novels in the

Collection Blanche The Collection Blanche is the great collection of French literature published by the Éditions Gallimard. It appeared in 1911, and at the beginning was nourished by the publications of ''La Nouvelle Revue française'' (''La NRF''), the brand "L ...

, ''Le Chien d'Ulysse'', ''La Kahéna'', ''Tuez-les tous'', ''Le silence de Mahomet'' and ''Amours et aventures de Sindbad le Marin'', which were hailed by critics and won several literary prizes. He also published a book of short stories about malvie ("bad life") in Algeria entitled ''Les douze contes de minuit'' at the same publisher and a narrative of travel, ''Autoportrait avec Grenade'', at éditions du Rocher. His books won the prix Tropiques, the Prix littéraire de la vocation, the Goncourt scholarship for premier roman and the prince Pierre de Monaco de la découverte scholarship. His novel ''Le silence de Mahomet'' present
a fictionalized and controversial vision
of Mahomet.

Works

*2001: ''Le Chien d'Ulysse'', novel, éditions Gallimard, Prix littéraire de la Vocation / Prix Goncourt du Premier roman / Bourse de la découverte Prince Pierre de Monaco. *2003: ''La Kahéna'', novel, Gallimard, Prix Tropiques 2004. *2005: ''Autoportrait avec Grenade'', narration, éditions du Rocher *2006: ''Tuez-les tous'', novel, Gallimard *2006: ''Les douze contes de minuit'', short stories, Gallimard, *2008: ''Le silence de Mahomet'', novel, Gallimard *2010: ''Amours et aventures de Sindbad le Marin'', novel, Gallimard, translated by Sue Rose into English as ''The new adventures of Sinbad the sailor'', Pushkin, 2012 *2012: ''Moi, Khaled Kelkal'', novel,

éditions Grasset The Grasset Editions () is a French publishing house founded in 1907 by (1881–1955). History Founder In 1913, Bernard Grasset publishes the first volume of ''À la recherche du temps perdu'', by Marcel Proust, '' Du côté de chez Swann'', ...

*2013: ''Le dernier été d'un jeune homme'', novel, Flammarion *2014: ''Le Consul'', novel, Gallimard

Bibliography

* "Les 100 personnalités de la diaspora africaine : Salim Bachi", in '' Jeune Afrique'', n°2536-2537, 16–29 August 2009, p. 47

Biography

Works

Bibliography

External links