Lynda Chouiten holds a PhD awarded by the National University of Ireland, Galway, and is Professor of Anglophone literature at the University of Boumerdes (Algeria). She is the author of several articles on literary criticism and two academic books, published respectively in the USA and the UK: a study of the work of Isabelle Eberhardt and a collective volume on authority. Lynda Chouiten has also published two novels: Le Roman des Pôv’Cheveux (Algiers: El Kalima, 2017) was a finalist for the Mohamed Dib and L’Escale d’Alger literary prizes, and Une Valse (Algiers: Casbah, 2022) won the Grand Prix Assia Djebar in December of the same year. In March 2022, Chouiten published Des Rêves à leur portée, her first short story collection.

Set in a university environment, Les Blattes orgueilleuses tells the story of Akli S., a lecturer, and two women: Rosa, a nervous and disconcerting student, whose frail body is constantly covered with a black veil, and Nora, who suffers from not being taken seriously on account of her too feminine appearance on the one hand and, on the other hand, of her being the daughter of real estate magnate suspected of being close to corrupt politicians. The events come to a head when the 2019 grand and peaceful marches begin, impressing the world and creating an atmosphere of simultaneous tension and hope.