Literary meeting in Montreal with Algerian writer Jamila Rahal (photo Réda Benkoula)
It was at the Côte-des-Neiges Community Resource Center that a literary meeting with the Algerian writer Jamila Rahal. This trip to Montreal allowed the author to present her two novels: You are freer than your jailers and I forgive you.
In a friendly atmosphere, the novelist addressed the main themes that run through her stories.
In her historical novel, You are freer than your jailers, she rigorously reproduces historical facts. Jamila Rahal emphasizes that this novel took her three years of research: “When you write a historical novel, as much as you are free in the fiction, in the invention of the characters, you must be rigorous in the restitution of historical facts. So the historical research itself from the end of the 19th century (before compulsory conscription) until November 1, 1954, really took me 3 years of writing research…as for the writing about a year,” she says.
Jamila Rahal: in the center of the photo (photo Réda Benkoula)
As for his second work, I Pardon You, it gives greater importance to the condition of women during the Algerian revolution. Through her books, she takes a hopeful look at Algerian society while dealing with profound subjects.
With emotion, she confided that the characters in her novels are inspired by her experiences with her family in Algeria. “I am from Nedroma: my father was from Nedroma and my mother from Tlemcen Allah Yerhamhoum. It’s an extremely rich terroir that really shaped me. I have always been fascinated by the feminine environment of my family…and many of the women in my novel are inspired by people who gravitated around me: in the way they speak; in their finesse to address problems and resolve them. I have always loved their subtlety. I can say that a part of my mother, Allah Yerhamha, is in every female character in my novels, either in the way she speaks or in her physique.”
During her visit, the author read a few extracts from her works before taking part in the question and answer game with the audience. This wonderful meeting ended with a signing session.
Reda Benkoula
Jamila Rahal signs her books (photo Réda Benkoula)
Jamila Rahal in Montreal 2026 You are freer than your jailers About the historical novel (1)
Jamila Rahal in Montreal 2026 You are freer than your jailers the characters
Jamila Rahal in Montreal 2026 You are freer than your jailers About the historical novel
Jamila Rahal in Montreal September 25, 2026 I forgive you women during the Algerian revolution
Jamila Rahal in Montreal September 25, 2026 I forgive you the characters
Jamila Rahal in Montreal September 25, 2026 I forgive you reading an extract
Jamila Rahal in Montreal September 25, 2026 I forgive you reading an extract
Jamila Rahal in Montreal September 25, 2026 I forgive you synopsis
Jamila Rahal in Montreal September 25, 2026 closing remarks