The Fertility of Evil

A criminal investigation plumbs the seedy underbelly of Oran in this heady psychological thriller spanning the history of postcolonial Algeria.

Oran, July 5, 2018. Independence Day. Colonel Soltani of the Anti-Terrorism Unit reluctantly gives up his holiday after his superior officer tracks him down at his girlfriend's home. A former National Liberation Front fighter and Algerian power broker has been found dead, his throat slit and face mutilated. Pressured to close this high-profile case quickly, Soltani and his team delve into the victim's past from the 1950s, uncovering the secrets of a revolutionary cell whose three remaining members have become prime suspects.

Set in a post-independence era marred by corruption, this dark, captivating novel unfolds in contrasting landscapes of dilapidated historic quarters and opulent new districts, revealing Algeria's struggle against deceit and betrayal.

Author: Amara Lakhous
Publisher: Other Press (NY)
Published: 02/24/2026
Pages: 272
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.81lbs
ISBN13: 9781635425833
ISBN10: 1635425832
BISAC Categories:
- Fiction | Crime
- Fiction | Historical | 20th Century | Post-World War II
- Fiction | World Literature | Middle East | Egypt & North Africa

About the Author
Amara Lakhous was born in Algeria in 1970 and lived in Italy for eighteen years before moving to the United States in 2014. A bilingual novelist in Arabic and Italian, he is the author of Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio, a bestseller translated into ten languages and adapted into a film in 2010. He is currently a professor in the practice in the Department of Italian Studies at Yale University.

Alexander E. Elinson is a Professor of Arabic and head of the Arabic program at Hunter College of the City University of New York. His translations include Youssef Fadel's A Beautiful White Cat Walks with Me and A Shimmering Red Fish Swims with Me, Yassin Adnan's Hot Maroc, Khadija Marouazi's History of Ash, and Saïd Khatibi's The End of the Sahara.