Born in 1971 in Algiers, he studied literature in Paris at the Sorbonne and in 2001 published his first novel, Le Chien d'Ulysse, at Éditions Gallimard, hailed by critics and rewarded by the prix Goncourt du premier roman. In Algeria he became "the most talented writer of his generation", embarking on an ambitious literary work on Algeria, its history, from colonization to the most recent black episodes, marked by Islamist terrorism. His first two novels are part of a novel cycle developed from an imaginary city, the ancient Cyrtha.