“Constantine, the eastern capital of Algeria, is situated atop two steep plateaus some eighty kilometres inland of the Mediterranean coast. Seven suspended bridges run over and above the menacing gorge below, connecting the two crags at various points. During the colonial era, Constantine was a roughly divided city. One plateau was generally reserved for Europeans and the other for the indigenous. In a reflective letter addressed to everyone and no one, my paternal grandfather recounts how he managed to find work in Sidi Mabrouk, then a neighbourhood exclusive to European police families in Constantine.” In Bed With Maradina