
The writer of this interesting novel combines reality and fiction, past and present. In 1936, Edmond Charlot founds a bookstore and a publishing house in Algiers, on a street formerly called Las Charras. The bookshop, which is called "The true wealth", will soon become a meeting place for aspiring writers, and for figures such as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and André Gide. Edmond will also begin his friendship with the then little known Camus, who often comes to work at this endearing place. The bookstore is primarily aimed at friends who love literature and the Mediterranean. Edmond has a passion for books and is looking, tirelessly, for originals and authors who wish to publish. It is, however, a somewhat difficult job given his precarious economic situation. Nonetheless, the human side of some French intellectuals is manifest in the diary that he is patiently writing. He will also suffer the consequences of the Second World War - he will be deployed twice, imprisoned for a month and, above all, will almost have no paper to be able to publish. He will also live the moments of the independence of Algeria. On the other hand, in 2017, the intern engineer Ryad accepts the task of demolishing, emptying and repainting the already abandoned bookshop "The true wealth" and build a more profitable doughnut shop.
The writer alternates Edmond's diary with Ryad's work, which makes it easy to read. It is a good novel and transmits a love for good literature, and for the great adventures of dreams and projects. It is also, on the part of the author, a tribute to her home city Algiers.