The Attack by Yasmina Khadra (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide

By Bright Summaries

Unlock the more straightforward side of The Attack with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!

This engaging summary presents an analysis of The Attack by Yasmina Khadra, which tells the story of Amin Jaafari, a Palestinian surgeon whose life falls apart in the wake of a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv as he comes to realise that the terrorist was none other than his beloved wife. His resulting quest to uncover the truth raises thought-provoking questions about identity, ideology and the value of an individual’s life. Yasmina Khadra is the pen-name of Mohammed Moulessehoul, a former officer in the Algerian army who retired to France to pursue an award-winning literary career.

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• A complete plot summary
• Character studies
• Key themes and symbols
• Questions for further reflection

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• Language: English
• Publisher: BrightSummaries.com
• Release date: Feb 7, 2018
• ISBN: 9782808007290

Book preview

Algerian soldier and writer

Born in Kenadsa (Algerian Sahara) in 1955.

Notable works:

The Swallows of Kabul (2002), novel

The Sirens of Baghdad (2006), novel

What the Day Owes the Night (2008), novel

Yasmina Khadra is the pseudonym of Mohammed Moulessehoul, who created the pen-name using his wife’s two forenames. Khadra is one of the most influential Algerian authors active today, and writes in French. He was born on 10 January 1955 in Kenadsa, in the Algerian Sahara. Before becoming a novelist, he served as an officer in the Algerian army and participated in the war on terror. He left the army in 2000 to devote himself to writing full-time.

His best-known works include The Swallows of Kabul and The Sirens of Baghdad, which, along with The Attack (2005), form a loosely connected trilogy centred on the tension between the East and the West, as well as What the Day Owes the Night, which was adapted into a film in 2012.

On the front lines of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Genre: novel

Reference edition: Khadra, Y. (2007) The Attack. Cullen, J. Trans. London: Vintage.

1st edition: 2005

Themes: love, violence, hatred, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, religion, multiculturalism

The Attack was first published in French in 2005, and was translated into English the following year. It has won several literary awards, including the Prix des Libraires in 2006. The novel is narrated by Amin, a surgeon working in Tel Aviv, which is being ravaged by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In the wake of a suicide bombing in the city centre, he learns that the bomber was none other than his wife, Sihem, who was willing to die for the