The motif of ‘crossings’ in selected works by Azouz Begag

The French writer of Algerian origin, Azouz Begag, has long been interested in the reception in France of those with immigrant origins. Their treatment often continues to be that reserved for the ‘visitor’, even several generations down the line. Yet these ‘outsiders’, who are not expected to ‘stay’, no longer identify with the country of their ancestors. Their life journeys become characterised by often delicate negotiations in order to be accepted. In the light of this situation, we examine three of Begag’s autofictional works. The first of these is Le Gone du Chaâba (1986), the text for which he gained celebrity. It explores the world of a young Algerian boy in France in the 1960s confronted with a Francocentric school system largely dismissive of the immigrant child. The second text, Le Marteau pique-cœur (2004) reveals an adult destabilised by the collapse of his marriage and the loss of his father, while the third, Salam Ouessant (2012), shows him on holiday with his two daughters and struggling with single status. All three texts share common concerns about reference points in life and all three are linked by numerous ‘crossings’ featuring various kinds of movement – physical, cultural, linguistic and transitional.