Review of A Dream For Peace

[Christiana Eno-obong]

[Following is a volunteer review of "A Dream For Peace" by Dr. Ghoulem Berrah.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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A Dream For Peace is a memoir by Dr. Ghoulem Berrah. It chronicles his life from birth in Ain Beida, Algeria, where he lives an idyllic life with a very close-knit extended family. His very first brush with colonialism was at school, where it seems students are deliberately trained to forget their local heritage. Eventually, he moves away from his native land to attend Medical School in Bordeaux. It was in France that his involvement in the fight for Algeria’s independence began. He became an activist for Algeria’s independence and national sovereignty. His activism eventually leads to Morocco, where he also served as a doctor in Taounate. He fought alongside comrades from the Moroccan Liberation Army. While in Morocco, Ghoulem went as far as applying for Law School as another avenue to energize students to fight for the Algerian cause. By a stroke of luck, he was offered the opportunity to move to the United States to study science at Indiana University. To show his love for peace, he gave up his prestigious position at Yale University to work for President Houphouet-Boigny of Cote d’Ivoire as special advisor to the Foreign Ministry. He explains his tight bond with the president and his eventual appointment as special advisor to the president. The memoir leads on to his falling in love with his third and last wife, Titi, but their love is strained and almost breaks as her parents refuse to give their consent and blessings to the marriage. He details his experience working with the president on creating peace in the Middle East as well as creating diplomatic relations between Morocco and Algeria as well as between Algeria and Côte d’Ivoire. He leads the charge to create lasting peace and harmony between the Muslims and Catholics in the country. He ends his memoir by noting that dialogue is the better weapon for fighting discord because though the war won the peace, dialogue will preserve it.

This is my first memoir,but I have to say that the author did a mighty fine job. The memoir provided insider information never before heard from the personal experiences of the author. His writing was very detailed. He took time to provide every major and minor detail of the process by which Algeria’s independence was won—one event building on the other to create a tantalizing read. The author took out time to explain events fully, creating a nice flow to his narration. Ghoulem is quite honest about his history; from racism, to the sexist views of women by his Muslim community. A Dream For Peace is a perfect read for anyone seeking information on the Algerian Independence War. Ghoulem’s diction was an entwining of English with a sprinkle of the native Algerian tongue, and this helps ground the work.

Although I liked reading this memoir, there are a few negatives I would like to point out. First, the use of the Algerian tongue in some parts of the book made it more authentic, but it also made it difficult to keep up with the book. Also, the book starts up slowly, but eventually picks up rhythm as it moves along.

I will be rating this book four out of four stars because the book being a memoir of the author’s life, it is acceptable that his native tongue be used. Also, the book more than makes up for its slow beginning by its end.

I recommend this book specifically for readers interested in literature on the Algerian Independence War. I also recommend it for adults and young adults as well as readers of non-fiction.

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A Dream For Peace
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[Diana Lowery]

I like how you describe the author's diction as an entwining of English. Thank you for your thoughtful review.

[Fajarr]

The mention of colonialism erasing one's local heritage really coincided with me as I live in a post-colonial country and can see its adverse affects.