Attacking Earth and Sun: A Novel

By: Mathieu Belezi

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Synopsis: This searing historical fiction immerses us in the brutal early days of the 19th-century French colonization of Algeria. The highly anticipated English-language debut of a prize-winning author who tackles the taboo of France&’s colonial past.In search of a prosperous life, Séraphine and her family brave the dangerous journey to France&’s newly conquered Algerian territory, along with five hundred likeminded citizens. But the realities of the colony soon give the lie to the French government&’s promises: inadequate shelter, hostile weather, sickness, and a native population whose anger and desperation threaten to boil over into violence.As the settlers gradually, painfully establish a community and a church in this foreign land, the French army wreaks devastation on the Algerian people and their villages. Through the eyes of a soldier—constantly reminded by his captain, &“You&’re no angels!&”—we witness their shocking cruelty as they attempt to quell resistance.With chiseled, haunting prose reminiscent of Faulkner, Mathieu Belezi condenses years of historical research into a powerfully human account. Attacking Earth and Sun vividly exposes the hell that was colonization, far from the pioneer dream sold by Western powers.