Khalil: by Yasmina Khadra, Paris, Julliard, 2018, 264 pp., €19 (softcover), ISBN 978-2-260-02422-4.

Having tackled the subjects of terrorism, war, and conflict between West and East in much of his prolific, highly-acclaimed literary output - most notably in his 2005 I L'Attentat i , which received the I Prix des librairies i the following year - it is perhaps no surprise that Yasmina Khadra's latest novel comprises a fictionalisation of the terrorist attacks in Paris in 2015. Perhaps the crucial point in the narrative comes towards the end, when the only person for whom Khalil appears to have any remaining affection, his twin sister, becomes a victim of another terrorist attack in central Brussels. Khadra does not disregard the insidious way in which religious leaders prey on the disadvantaged, as Khalil explains how 'le paumé devient ton sosie, le révolté ton frère siamois, les prêches ton exutoire, la violence ta légitimité' (229). [Extracted from the article]