What I Expected of Myself

About this book

After waiting under the July sun for his third baccalaureate result, a young man discovers that success is not an ending but the first step out of a life chosen for him. He leaves the fields for Oran, entering university rooms that feel like cells while the city's streets, trams, bookshops, and friendships open unfamiliar possibilities. Between family expectations and persistent questions about identity, he develops a passion for reading and a quiet love that deepens his search for meaning. Khalil Terbag's reflective novel asks whether we truly choose our lives or merely learn to sing inside the cages built around us.