This paper considers one of Dr Abdul Malik Mourtadh’s great novels, Valley of Darkness, in which he endeavours to affirm national identity as it tries to consolidate itself in the period of critical transformations undergone by Algeria. The subjective and the objective, and the realist and the fictional, intersect in this novel in an artistic effort that reflects a depth of experience, with a well-crafted narrative that is the product of an aesthetic style and contents. Through the narrative expositions and symmetries between the various events, a relationship is achieved between the various subjects in conflict across time and space.