The novel treats a difficult theme within the French and Algerian relations, one might even say a taboo, i.e. the history of the Harkis, the native Muslim Algerians who served as auxiliaries for the French army during the Algerian War of Independence from 1954 to 1962. The cruel history of the Algerian Independence War became a topic in the French media first at the end of the 20^thcentury. On the contrary, in Francophone Algerian literature, it was one of the main topics although the history of the Harkis was not mentioned as such. The story is inspired by the author’s family history and relates the destiny of three generations, and where the main character, Naima, lives in today’s France.  The aim of this study was to examine why the family story was not told to Naima. The research is based on Tahar Ben Jelloun’s analysis of the concept of hospitality and Carolin Emcke’s study of hatred. It is shown how the novel gives a differentiated point of view of the historical facts’ impact on the family’s destiny by deconstructing the dichotomies between we and them, the enemy and the friend, French and Algerian.