Forbidden Vision

This extraordinary first novel by a 25-year-old French-Algerian writer was accepted for immediate publication in France and went on to sell more than 120,000 copies there.Forbidden Vision is the compelling first-person account of a woman's forced enclosure among a repressive and abusive family in Moslem Algiers; her only escape from confinement is the hypnotic tale she weaves in her mind. The novel weaves together two passionately developed themes: the violent repression of women, not only by Islamic culture, but by western patriarchal culture as well; and the liberating power of the imagination. This latter theme is expressed through the expressive power of the writing itself, which is preserved in this remarkable translation.