From the endless snows of Kabylia to working-class projects on the outskirts of Caen, cruel reality and fairy-tale wonder intertwine in this novel.

As a boy, the narrator of this novel would wait for his father Adan to leave for his factory shift, and then steal his still-warm spot in bed where his mother Nahima, a wonderful storyteller, would pass on bits of their family history. In his mind, he crossed the Mediterranean, following in the footsteps of parents destined to leave their native land. The Bread of Exile opens with the public execution of Nahima's father, an honorable bandit, as his young daughter looks on. It ends with Adan's escape to France as the Sétif and Guelma massacres rage on.