A story in praise of a woman, a fighter, a survivor from the award-winning French-Moroccan novelist known for humanizing North Africa's otherwise marginalized characters--prostitutes and...

A story in praise of a woman, a fighter, a survivor from the award-winning French-Moroccan novelist known for humanizing North Africa's otherwise marginalized characters--prostitutes and thieves, trans and gay people in a world where being LGBTQ+ can be a dangerous act.

Shortlisted for the prestigious Prix Goncourt in 2022.

Three moments in the life of Malika, a Moroccan countrywoman. From 1954 to 1999. From French colonization to the death of King Hassan II.

It is her voice we hear in Abdellah Ta?a's stunning new novel, translated by Emma Ramadan, who won the PEN Translation Prize for her translation of Taia's last novel, A Country for Dying.

Malika's first husband was sent by the French to fight in Indochina.

In the 1960s, in Rabat, she does everything possible to prevent her daughter Khadija from becoming a maid in a rich French woman's villa.

The day before the death of Hassan II, a young homosexual thief, Ja?far, enters her home and wants to kill her.

Malika recounts with rage her strategies to escape the injustices of History. To survive. To have a little space of her own.

Malika is Ta?a's mother: M'Barka Allali Ta?a (1930-2010). This book is dedicated to her.

Author: Abdellah Taia
Publisher: Seven Stories Press
Published: 02/25/2025
Pages: 144
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.30lbs
Size: 8.20h x 5.40w x 0.50d
ISBN: 9781644214534


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 12/02/2024

About the Author
Born in Rabat, Morocco in 1973, ABDELLAH TA?A has written many novels in French, including Salvation Army (2006), Le jour du roi (Prix de Flore, 2010), Infidels, translated into English by Alison Strayer (Seven Stories Press, 2016), and A Country for Dying, which was awarded the PEN Translation Prize for Emma Ramadan's translation (Seven Stories Press, 2020). His most recent novel Le bastion des larmes was shortlisted for the Prix Goncourt 2024 and won the Prix Decembre 2024. He is the director of two award-winning feature films, "Salvation Army" (2013) and "Cabo Negro" (2025). He lives in Paris.

EMMA RAMADAN is an educator and literary translator from French. She was awarded the PEN Translation Prize for Abdellah Ta?a's A Country for Dying, and has also received the Albertine Prize, two NEA Fellowships, and a Fulbright. Her other translations include Anne Garr?ta's Sphinx, Kamel Daoud's Zabor, or the Psalms, Kaoutar Harchi's As We Exist, Marguerite Duras's The Easy Life, and Barbara Molinard's Panics.