Mohamed dib la grande maison

1952 novel by Mohammed Dib

La Grande Maison is a novel by Mohammed Dib published in 1952 by Editions du Seuil.

It is the first part of the Algeria trilogy (which also includes The Fire and The Loom ).^[1]

Plot

The story takes place in Algeria in 1939, it tells the life of a large and poor family.

Print length.

The hero is a little boy of around ten years old who is hungry every day.^[2]

Omar and his family live in a small room in Dar Sbitar (a group home where several families are crowded together and share the courtyard, kitchen and toilets).^[3]

Aïni, the mother, works hard to support her family, but the money she earns is not even enough to buy bread.

She is distraught, with the daily complaints of her children. She curses her late husband who went to rest leaving her in misery. Grandmother Mama (paralyzed) is abandoned by her childreni; she is another mouth to feed.

Among all the inhabitants of Dar Sbitar, Hamid Saraj stood out