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Yasmina Khadra Biography, Books, and Similar Authors

Author Biography  | Books by this Author  | Read-Alikes

Yasmina Khadra

Yasmina Khadra

Yasmina Khadra Biography

Yasmina Khadra is the pseudonym of the former Algerian army officer Mohammed Moulessehoul.

Moulessehoul, an officer in the Algerian army, adopted a woman's pseudonym to avoid military censorship. Despite the publication of many successful novels in Algeria, Moulessehoul only revealed his true identity in 2001 after leaving the army and going into exile and seclusion in France. Anonymity was the only way for him to survive and avoid censorship during the Algerian Civil War.

In 2004, Newsweek acclaimed him as "one of the rare writers capable of giving a meaning to the violence in Algeria today."

His novel set in Afghanistan under the Taliban, The Swallows of Kabul was shortlisted for the 2006 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. The Attack won the Prix des libraires in 2006, a prize chosen by about five thousand bookstores in France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Canada.

The Sirens of Baghdad published in May 2007 is another notable book by Khadra. He won the Grand prix de Littirature by the French Academy in 2011.

He lives in Aix-en-Provence France.

Yasmina Khadra's website

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Books by this Author

Books by Yasmina Khadra at BookBrowse
The Sirens of Baghdad jacket The Attack jacket The Swallows of Kabul jacket
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Read-Alikes

All the books below are recommended as read-alikes for Yasmina Khadra but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right.
How we choose read-alikes

  • Qais Akbar Omar

    Qais Akbar Omar

    Qais Akbar Omar (whose first name is pronounced "Kice") manages his family's carpet business in Kabul and writes books. In 2007, he was a visiting scholar at the University of Colorado. He has studied business at ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    The Swallows of Kabul

    Try:
    A Fort of Nine Towers
    by Qais Akbar Omar

  • Nadeem Aslam

    Nadeem Aslam

    Nadeem Aslam was born in Pakistan in 1966 and moved to Britain at age 14. His family left Pakistan to escape President Zia's regime.

    His novel Maps for Lost Lovers, winner of the Kuriyama Prize, took him more than a decade ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    The Swallows of Kabul

    Try:
    The Wasted Vigil
    by Nadeem Aslam

We recommend 12 similar authors


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