Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: The End of the Sahara by Said Khatibi

 

The End of the Sahara is set in the late summer and early autumn of 1988 in and around the central Algerian city of Bou Saada. It tells of multiple crimes, both significant and petty, but the focal point is the murder of Zakia Zaghouani, the young and attractive singer at the Hotel Sahara. Zaza had many admirers and others were jealous of her successes. In addition, her family was appalled at her refusal to lead a conventional Muslim life.

Written by Said Khatibi, who grew up in Bou Saada, the narrative incorporates a backdrop of local corruption, administrative incompetence, and wrenching deprivation. The memory of the Algerian War of Independence, which Algeria waged against France from 1954 to 1962, is still strong but the governance structure that replaced French rule has not been successful. With little water, food, or electricity, the country’s long-suffering residents finally rose in a mass protest a few days after the end of this book with devastating results.

The author’s note at the beginning of the book states that “It is a tribute to the more than five hundred people who died fighting for freedom on October 5, 1988, and to women who fought on this day and every day, resisting a violent patriarchal system that aims to control them.”

Originally published in Arabic as Nihayat Al-Sahra by Hachette Antoine, Beirut, in 2022, the book won the Sheikh Zayed Book Award in the Young Author category in 2023. The original text has been translated beautifully by Alexander Elinson, Associate Professor of Arabic at Hunter College in New York, for publication by Bitter Lemon Press of London. Bitter Lemon Press has an impressive catalog of crime fiction in translation from all parts of the world. Their finalist designation for the 2025 Crime Writers’ Association Publisher’s Dagger recognizes Bitter Lemon Press’s efforts to deliver quality books in English from uncommon sources.

Interestingly, we never hear from the victim directly. We only know what others thought of her and their experiences with her. About six narrators explain individually what they knew of the singer and the events leading up to her death and perhaps twice that many characters support the story; keeping track of who is who can be challenging. A helpful roster of characters is found at the end of the book.

With only minimal knowledge of Algeria’s history, I realized I was missing the subtext of the story as I read. An article by M. Lynx Qualey in ArabLit was most helpful in that regard: Looking for Ghosts: On Said Khatibi’s ‘End of the Sahara’. I recommend a review of this essay before beginning the book.

Kirkus starred review. 

 

 

·         Publisher: ‎Bitter Lemon Press

·         Publication date: ‎March 24, 2026

·         Language: ‎English

·         Print length: ‎336 pages

·         ISBN-10: ‎1916725228

·         ISBN-13: ‎978-1916725225

 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4cb3USB

 

 

Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2026

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.