The jury needed just one round of voting to award the coveted prize to Algerian writer Daoud for his novel Houris about what has become known as Algeria's "black decade". Daoud reacted on social media by dedicating the prize to his deceased father and his mother, who is still alive, but who no longer remembers anything, thanking them for their support, and posting a photo of his parents. The writer – the first Algerian to win the Goncourt in France – is known for stirring controversy with his analyses of society in Algeria and elsewhere in the Arab world.
The title Houris is a reference to beautiful, virginal companions for faithful Muslim men in paradise. It tells the story of a young woman who loses her voice when an Islamist cuts her throat as she witnesses her family being massacred during the civil war. She later shares her experiences with her unborn child through an internal monologue.
"With Houris, the Goncourt Academy has crowned a book in which lyricism duels with tragedy and which gives a voice to the suffering linked to a dark time in Algeria, especially for women," said Goncourt president Philippe Claudel. France's ever tighter ties with Morocco leave Algeria seeking other allies However, the subject appears to challenge Algeria's continuing reluctance to address the civil war from 1992 to 2002 in public. The conflict between Islamist groups against the Algerian army killed tens of thousands of people, with some estimates as high as 200,000.
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