Great African Reads discussion

SPOILERs
This thread is for discussions of our Jan/Feb 2022 read of Children of the New World by Assia Djebar - Notice that there may be SPOILERS (Find the no-spoiler thread here)
- Feel free to discuss anything you like about the book here: Here's a few questions to get you started:
How did you like the characters? The plot? The style? The portrayal of characters and their surroundings?

Here is my short review. I took me a while to realize that the book actually centers on one specific day (March 24th, 1956) in the Algerian town of Blida at the start of the insurgency against the French occupation.

My French pocket edition doesn't contain any afterword or background information (as does the English translation) that could help to better understand the book. Apparently Djebar published it in the last year of the Algerian liberation war (very courageous), after giving up her studies and participating in the struggle for independence.

I had at times difficulties to remember and distinguish the multitude of persons and was somehow disturbed by the constant switching (and the chapters that did not correspond entirely to the protagonist they were referring to). Maybe I should read it again to fully grasp the nuances of the stories and the links between the protagonists?

Wim wrote: "Here is my short review. I took me a while to realize that the book actually centers on one specific day (March 24th, 1956) in the Algerian town of Blida at the start of the insurgency against the ..."

Thank you for the background info, Wim - I have this and will give et a shot soon!