Background
Laredj was born in Sidi Bou Jnan in Tlemcen province.
Laredj was born in Sidi Bou Jnan in Tlemcen province.
He obtained an Master of Arts and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Damascus. Having finished his studies, he returned to Algeria and took up an academic position at his alma mater, the University of Algiers.
He obtained a Bachelor in Arabic literature from the University of Algiers and then went off to Syria to pursue postgraduate studies, aided by a government scholarship. He continued to teach there till 1994. The outbreak of civil war in Algeria in the 1990s forced Laredj to leave the country.
After a short time in Tunisia, he moved to France and joined the faculty of the Université Paris III-New Sorbonne, where he taught Arabic literature.
As a writer, Laredj is well known throughout the Arabicand French-speaking countries. Beginning in the early 1980s, he has published more than a dozen books
His novels often deal with the troubled history of his native Algeria. He translated himself some of his books into French.
At least two of his books were available in French before they were available in Arabic.
In the past, Laredj has produced literary programmes for Algerian television He has also contributed a regular column to the Algerian newspaper El Watan.