The Dictator’s Last Night

Described as ’deeply affecting’ by The Guardian, Yasmina Khadra provides us with a fascinating insight into the mind of one of the most complex and controversial figures of recent history in this gripping imagining of the last hours of President Gaddafi.

’Khadra’s prose is gentle and precise’The New Yorker

People say I am a megalomaniac. It is not true. I am an exceptional being, providence incarnate, envied by the gods, able to make a faith of his cause.

October 2011. In the dying days of the Libyan civil war, Muammar Gaddafi is hiding out in his home town of Sirte along with his closest advisors. They await a convoy that will take them south, away from encroaching rebel forces and NATO aerial attacks.

The mood is sombre. In what will be his final night, Gaddafi reflects on an extraordinary life, whilst still raging against the West, his fellow Arab nations and the ingratitude of the Libyan people.

Yasmina Khadra: Yasmina Khadra is the pen name of the Algerian author Mohammed Moulessehoul.
He became director of the Algerian Cultural Center in Paris in November 2007 and in November 2013 announced his candidacy for the presidency of Algeria.

Julian Evans: Julian Evans is a writer and translator. He lives in Bristol.