THE IMPOSSIBLE RETURN

Nathalie Hadj

Mercure de France, 208 pages, 2024

 ***TRANSLATION SAMPLE AVAILABLE HERE***

In 1956, amid the war between the French and the Algerian independence movement, teenager Karim left Algeria for France, where he changed his first name to Paul for easier integration. Ana, for her part, fled Málaga and Francisco Franco’s Spain in 1962 to come to Paris in the hope of a better life, and ends up doing housework.

When Paul and Ana meet, each recognizes the other as the exile they are; they marry and start a family. Ana becomes a concierge, while Paul works in a garment factory, under the protection of Jakub (aka Jean), the owner, before becoming a bank clerk. They have two children: the narrator Margot and her younger brother, Thomas.

At the beginning of the novel, when her adored father dies, Margot realizes that she knows almost nothing about her parents’ history beyond the broad outlines. Summoning her childhood memories, questioning old neighbors, and reconnecting with childhood friends—the witnesses of the past—she surveys her memory as well as the streets of the 11th arrondissement of Paris, where she grew up, to discover her parents’ truth and unravel their secrets.

In exploring this family’s past, Nathalie Hadj goes in search of her own history of double culture, and emotionally weaves the threads of a tale of origins. Through a gallery of colorful characters, Hadj describes with accuracy and depth the complexity of the human being and renders a powerful and moving family story. The Impossible Return is her debut novel.