A Bookshop in Algiers: Kaouther Adimi

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Nuestras riquezas, de la joven escritora Kaouther Adimi (Argel, 1986), pertenece a una especie de subgénero literario que nunca caerá en desuso porque se alimenta de un sentimiento imperecedero: sí, esa febril nostalgia que cualquier amante de la lectura ha experimentado al sumergirse entre las páginas de un libro que habla sobre otros libros. Nuestras riquezas es una obra que estruja hasta la última gota, sin ningún tipo de remordimiento, ese pasteloso romanticismo que nos hace venerar la mera proximidad de un manuscrito. Con suma artesanía narrativa, un lenguaje seductor y un tono que atrapa desde la primera escucha, Kaouther Adimi nos invita a pasear por las abarrotadas calles de Argel hasta el 2 bis de la calle Hamani, antigua calle Charras, donde un emprendedor e idealista Edmond Charlot abrió en 1936 una librería de préstamo llamada Las Verdaderas Riquezas. Although the book seems to end on the apparent closure of the bookshop there is somewhat of an epilogue that implies the store (and others like it) and all of their magic will live on in our hearts. That is the true wealth. A sort of meeting place for friends, but with a Mediterranean outlook too: bringing together writers from all the Mediterranean countries, regardless of language or religion

While she was studying in the Alger university, she entered a writing contest organized by the French Institute, for the young writers in Muret (Haute-Garonne). The short story she submitted held the attention of the jury who published it in a collection alongside the other laureates' productions. Thanks to this contest, she was invited to Muret then Toulouse and finally Paris, where she met with les éditions Barzakh. No encuentro las palabras para transmitir lo maravilloso que ha sido perderme en las páginas de este pequeño gran libro. Zenginliklerimiz’de üç farklı karakteri ve onların birbiriyle kesişen hikayelerini okuyoruz. Biri Edmond Charlot, diğeri Charlot’nun kitabevinin kütüphaneye dönüştürülmesinin ardından uzun yıllar o kütüphanenin bekçiliği yapan Abdallah ve son olarak kütüphaneyi boşaltacak, temizleyecek ve yerine açılacak çörekçi için (ne kadar da tanıdık!) hazırlayacak olan Ryad. Son iki karakter Cezayir’in yıllar içindeki dönüşümünü göstermek ve biraz da çatışma yaratmak için konulmuş. Bu kısımlar ilginç ve düşündürücü olmakla birlikte biraz daha geliştirilmeye muhtaç, şu haliyle iki karakterin çatışması biraz yarım kalmış ve kitabı da biraz didaktikleştirmiş maalesef. Kaouther Adimi, (born 1986 Algiers) is a writer, graduate in modern literature and human resources management. She works today in Paris, where she has lived since 2009.

Author

A Bookshop in Algiers follows two timelines as we see the creation and then ruin of a bookshop that once felt like the heart of so many bibliophiles. Going between the 1930’s-1960’s and present day, we see two different characters and their relationships with books, and how books change them. I loved this novel for its timeless adoration of literature. Stories withstand throughout all and that is truly beautiful. “Literature, at least, will never abandon me” being a fantastic quote to stand by this. There is so much gorgeous writing in this book, a credit to the Adimi, but also to Chris Andrews, the translator.

It's a struggle but he reports already in the fall of 1945 that they're: "managing to publish 12 to 15 books a month"; by 1947: "Sales are reaching 100,000, and much more for some titles"; by 1949 Éditions Charlot has flamed out, bankrupt. That is: a store selling new and second-hand books, which is also a lending library, and not just a business but a place where people come to talk and read. The author was born in Algeria (1983) and now lives in France. This is her third novel and it was nominated for the Prix Goncourt. I go on a bit much about the schools in the paragraph above because it ties in with a book I reviewed about a month ago: The Simple Past by Driss Chraibi. It’s the story of a ‘native boy’ in French Morocco whose father sent him to French school to ‘learn how his enemy thinks.’)This is a fictionalized biography of a real person, Edmond Charlot, a lover of books, who founded a bookstore in Algiers in 1935 when he was 20 years old. He called the bookstore Les Vraies Richesses - Our True Wealth. (Note that another edition in English has the title A Bookstore in Algiers.) No obstante, la historia comienza con el fin de la librería, más tarde convertida en biblioteca cuando ya no vende ningún libro y es de alguna manera rescatada por los organismos públicos de Argel. Pero, incluso convertida en biblioteca, el establecimiento no resulta fácil de mantener y al final, termina siendo vendido para convertirse en pastelería, muy a pesar del bibliotecario de ese momento, a quien le duele que la gente parezca haber dejado de interesarse por la literatura. El relato de Adimi, una biografía novelada del prestigioso editor parisino, está compuesto de tres hilos argumentales que se trenzan a lo largo de la obra hasta formar un delicioso y vibrante fresco donde la librería actúa como epicentro de la narración. Proyecto editorial, estandarte político, refugio para desamparados, testigo de acontecimientos históricos y cuna de escritores como André Gide o Albert Camus, Las Verdaderas Riquezas constituye en sí misma un fascinante personaje que, olvidada ya su época de mayor gloria, está a punto de ser convertida por su nuevo propietario en un puesto dedicado a la venta de buñuelos.

Edmond Charlot, 1936’da 21 yaşındaydı ve bir kitabevi açmaya karar verdi: Vraies Richesses. Öyle hayalleri vardı ki.. Yeni kitaplar, ilk basımlar, yazar ve eser keşifleri, sergiler..

Pages

The modern stream features a young man sent to clean out the bookshop for a new owner who wants to sell sweet treats. The young man does not have a literary bone in his body and as the story progresses, his ignorance becomes palatable and the neighbours of the shops do all they can to foil his efforts to clear out the shop. Their loyalties lie with the old man, Abdallah, who has been working there all his life and it had become his home. Adimi's novel is, of course, an attempt to reconstruct much of this that had been lost -- though she does so only with the lightest of brushstrokes. A Bookshop in Algiers is a truly delightful read. Kaouther Adimi paid homage not only to Edmond Charlot but also to the art of storytelling, literature, and bookshop as a place of a great importance for local communities, of cultural exchange and freedom of thought. Here, a bookshop is more than just a physical place selling books — it is an idea, a magnet for those who dare to dream. Ryad's story in the present day setting is more of a comedic fish-out-of-water tale as the young intern tries to cope with his task. There is somewhat of a reconciliation and appreciation that grows through his struggles. Así es como yo concibo mi trabajo. El escritor tiene que escribir, el editor tiene que dar vida a los libros. No veo límites a esta idea. La literatura es demasiado importante como para no dedicarle todo mi tiempo».