WHY WOULD i go to heaven?
Walid Hajar Rachedi
Emmanuelle Collas Éditions, 304 pages, 2022
Why you should take a look at it:
√A deep identity exploration
√ Masterful balance of tone, blending geopolitical suspense with philosophical depth
√ An author with US and global ties
In 2004, on the eve of a historic US presidential election, global geopolitical tremors shatter the lives of everyday individuals.
The narrative sparks to life when Malek, a 17-year-old French teen of Algerian descent, travels from his working-class Paris suburb to Lille to visit his cousin Ali, who has recently survived the crossing from Algeria. There, Malek crosses paths with Atiq, a young Afghan refugee who has crossed all of Europe on foot.
Atiq is on a desperate, time-sensitive manhunt for his twin brother, Wassim, who is bent on executing a tragic act of militant vengeance against the West.
This chance meeting shatters Malek’s worldview. Plagued by questions about his own mixed identity and refusal to rely on secondhand media narratives, Malek embarks on a relentless, continent-hopping odyssey.
His search for truth takes him through Paris, Kabul, Granada, Oran, Algiers, and Cairo. Along the way, he falls in love with Kathleen, a young Londoner searching for her own father—a humanitarian aid worker who vanished mysteriously in Afghanistan.
As these disparate lives hurtle toward a tragic intersection in London, Rachedi masterfully explores the collective nostalgia for a "paradise" that may have never existed.
Walid Hajar Rachedi is an acclaimed French novelist, journalist, media entrepreneur, and screenwriter. Born France, in 1981 to parents of Algerian origin, his personal background and extensive global travels heavily inform his literary exploration of identity, immigration, and modern geopolitics. His unique cross-cultural background and nomadic life led him to participate in international literary programs. In 2022, he was a resident at the prestigious International Writing Program of the University of Iowa. He also completed a residency with the French cultural institution Villa Albertine in Atlanta, researching a podcast project titled What's Left of the American Dream.