In the Name of God

The descent of a peaceful village into the horrors of civil war: Khadra brings to life a conflict largely unknown to those in the English speaking world. Imagine becoming accustomed to terror on a daily basis. Imagine finding it normal to betray your neighbour. Imagine your worst fears being replaced by complacency, your natural compassion by cold indifference. In the Name of God illustrates the way evil can become a part of everyday life. And it is the story of Algeria today.

Yasmina Khadra is actually the nom de plume of Algerian army officer Mohammed Moulessehoul -- who took on the feminine pseudonym to avoid submitting his manuscripts for approval by military censors while he was still in the army. Yasmina Khadra s Kabul is hell on earth, a place of hunger, tedium, and stifling fear, observes J. M. Coetzee, winner of the 2003 Nobel Prize for Literature.