A translated critical edition of Maissa Bey's 'Entendez-vous dans les montagnes...' (2002)

This dissertation comprises a critical edition of the Algerian author Maissa Bey's 2002 autofictional work in French, Entendez-vous dans les montagnes..., including: a translator's introduction, a critical introduction, the translation, and an afterword.;The translator's introduction presents my translation methodology, which adapts Jacqueline Guillemin-Flescher's theories in Syntaxe comparee du francais et de l'anglais: problemes de traduction (1981). I rework her communicative approach to convey the complexities of Franco-Algerian "copresences," or the coexistence of two cultures. I pose the question: Do readers need the same cultural capital to appreciate Entendez-vous dans les montagnes... as they do to read a standard French to English translation? This specificity explains my changes to Guillemin-Flescher's theories.;The critical introduction presents Entendez-vous dans les montagnes... , which stages an exiled Algerian woman's physical journey through Provence to Marseilles. The three protagonists also metaphorically travel to understand their singular memories and the multiple truths behind the Franco-Algerian colonial legacy (1830-1962). I pinpoint the dualities in: the Algerian woman, a French Army veteran turned doctor, Jean, and Marie, the young granddaughter of a pied-noir. An analysis of their dualities, between conformity and rebellion, enhances the book's political statements. I accent how a knowledge of Bey's "traces" or multiple connotations of euphemisms, such as "soigner," which means "to take care of the sick" or "to execute," underscore these dualisms. Finally, I highlight Marie's comparatively small role.;The afterword presents how the translation process impacts Entendez-vous dans les montagnes.... I contemplate how to maintain the distinctiveness of Bey's book, in which the figurative and literal senses of every French word communicate political and personal content. This style conveys politics in a simple, highly relatable fashion, partially due to the deep personal commitment underneath. Translation frames a text. It is a complex, rewarding challenge to provide this frame when the original exposes the volatile cultural politics behind the Franco-Algerian colonial legacy.