Lynda Chouiten (2024) Les blattes orgueilleuses . Casbah-Éditions: Algiers. Since leaving my lecturing post to take up writing full-time on Tuesday 11th January 2022, the way I approach novels has become very different. I notice structure. André Gide's short novel, Paludes , was the first in which I noticed that the author had structured the novel into sections, first around the names of his characters, for example, Hubert, Angèle, and then as if keeping a diary or journal using the days of the week. But he starts his first scene on Tuesday. This missed Monday was the catalyst for my commissioned meta-fiction from the Millbay writer's residency. Lynda Chouiten, in her Les blattes orgueilleuses , uses structure, too, to build a huge matrix on which her story unfolds. She divides the novel into two major parts, first to present the profiles of her characters and then a second part to...
ISSN 2753-7803