The Art of Losing

By: Alice Zeniter, Frank Wynne - translator

Narrated by: Jeed Saddy

Naïma has always known that her family came from Algeria – but up until now, that meant very little to her. Born and raised in France, her knowledge of that foreign country is limited to what she's learned from her grandparents' tiny flat in a crumbling French sink estate: the food cooked for her, the few precious things they brought with them when they fled.

On the past, her family is silent. Why was her grandfather Ali forced to leave? Was he a harki – an Algerian who worked for and supported the French during the Algerian War of Independence? Once a wealthy landowner, how did he become an immigrant scratching a living in France?

Naïma’s father, Hamid, claims to remember nothing. Now, Naïma will see Algeria for herself, will ask the questions about her family’s history that, until now, have had no answers.

©2017 Flammarion / Albin Michel (P)2022 Tantor Media, a division of Recorded Books

Critic reviews

'Remarkable ... a novel about people that never loses its sense of humanity.' (The Sunday Times)

'Zeniter’s extraordinary achievement is to transform a complicated conflict into a compelling family chronicle.' (The Wall Street Journal)

'With its panoramic vision and generous spirit, The Art of Losing finds shoots of hope amid the stony landscapes of the past.' (The Spectator)