Boiling Point
World history plays an ever-present role in this novel’s intimate yet universal stories
Nisrine Mbarki Ben Ayad makes her debut with this novel that weaves a sumptuous web of stories about love, mourning and solace. Nothing short of a linguistic explosion, the book creates connections between its characters in countless ways.
Boiling Point brings together seven stories set in various places and various moments in time, from 1961 in Algeria to 2061 in Amsterdam. While the title story is a brutal indictment of the genocide in Palestine, another tells the story of the woman who, after purchasing a house in the French countryside, drifts into memories of the Moroccan village where she spent her youth.
The protagonist of another chapter loses the love of his life to nuclear tests given the green light by the French government in the Algerian Sahara. Introducing a multitude of characters, the author shows with singular power how the inevitable consequences of history reverberate for generations.
The book also focuses on multilingualism and the way in which language connects us to places and identities. Each chapter of this novel offers a new and unexpected perspective, addressing the impact of colonialism and the loving, complex human relationships that have withstood the unpredictable course of history.
Seven stories, one century: from 1961 Algeria to 2061 Amsterdam
A debut that spans continents, generations and languages
Nisrine Mbarki Ben Ayad: poet laureate, translator, and now novelist
Nisrine Mbarki Ben Ayad (1977) is an author, poet, columnist, translator and theatre programmer. She writes poetry, plays and short stories and translates poetry from Arabic into Dutch.