Ahlam

Marc Trevidic is a French judge and widely known expert on antiterrorism and terrorist networks. In this novel, he presents the unrelenting, chilling portrait of a world capsizing into madness.
When Paul, a famous French painter, arrives in Kerkennah, Tunisia, in the year 2000, the island is a tiny paradise for all those seeking peace and beauty. He settles in "the house on the sea" and begins what will become an enduring friendship with the family of a local fisherman, Farhat. The artist grows particularly close to Farhat's children, Issam and Ahlam, both incredibly gifted in music and painting. Paul begins to hope that the three of them together might realize his dream of creating a unique and global work that would combine all the arts.
Ten years go by and the troubles of the world reach Kerkennah. Ben Ali is deposed and radical Islam is gaining ground. The clash between artistic beauty and religious fanaticism can begin.
"This first novel is a gripping portrait of Tunisian youth torn between radical Islam and progress. Proof that fiction can be as powerful as non-fiction in portraying reality." LIRE
"Sometimes it's fiction that illustrates reality best. A riveting narrative that dissects its subject without judgment - the tour de force of a man of law who is also a novelist." LE PARISIEN MAGAZINE
"In his first novel, Ahlam, Marc Trevidic takes on fanaticism. Armed with his experience, he describes the mechanisms of indoctrination to better eradicate it." LE SOIR
"Like a crime novel, we are immediately caught up in a relentless, merciless forward momentum." TELERAMA