Mokhtar Mokhtefi engagingly portrays a young man's coming of age in French-colonial Algeria and his fight for nationhood in I Was a French Muslim: Memories of an Algerian Freedom Fighter. Born in Algeria in 1935, Mokhtefi, the youngest of six children, was the first to finish grammar school and continue his education at a French lycée. Living under colonial rule, Mokhtefi recognized the hypocrisy of the French principles of liberté, egalité and fraternité taught in Algerian schools, while Algerians were treated as second-class citizens. The term "French Muslim" was stamped on every Algerian's identity card to differentiate them from the "French" (i.e., European) inhabitants of Algeria.
Inspired by his love of country and equipped with a "strong moral sense," Mokhtefi joined the National Liberation Army in 1957 at the age of 22 and became a radio operator. Mokhtefi resurrects this time in his life through novelistic episodes of extensive dialogue and colorful descriptions of his soldiering days. Written in present tense, Mokhtefi's memoir pulls readers along through dangerous desert treks and encounters with venomous snakes, red-light districts, romances and run-ins with picaresque comrades he often must put in their place. A passionate introduction by Elaine Mokhtefi, his wife and translator, fills in gaps for those new to the topic of Algeria's fight for independence. Ultimately, Mokhtefi's charming, guileless voice is the winning element of this fervent and personal account of an Algerian patriot. --Peggy Kurkowski, book reviewer and copywriter in Denver, Colo.