En fait tout cela n'est qu'accessoire et marginal dans le discours de ce livre, donc il faut vite sortir de cette vision et prendre un peu de recul, considérant ce roman comme une sorte de documentaire sans journaliste. A publisher, Philippe Rey, then spotted a short and lyrical text Guven wrote on Facebook and encouraged him to write a book. And thus, Grand Frere was born. What she found the most violent, she says, was the terrible image this “white, bourgeois society, that I had never encountered before, assigned to me. I had no control over the way I was described, and I didn’t yet understand the true meaning behind the words they used to describe me, or even the way I was portrayed in photographs”. Guven's story follows two unnamed brothers of Franco-­Syrian origin. The older one, a private driver, is the main narrator, while the younger, more idealistic brother is a nurse who has left for Mali on a humanitarian mission but is suspected of being in Syria.

Kiffe Kiffe Demain became so significant you might even say there is a 'before Kiffe Kiffe' and an 'after Kiffe Kiffe' on France’s literary landscape Translated, it's a very easy read, basically YA, though for a reader of French around A-Level standard, the slang will take a bit of getting used to. Subject-wise, it technically has that realist 'worthiness' characteristic of the IFFP - it's about an impoverished French-Moroccan teenage girl living on a tough estate on the outskirts of Paris - but it's not in the least dry, so 'worthy' wasn't an adjective that occurred to me until afterwards. This book didn't exist when I was doing A-levels, but Kiffe Kiffe plus an older classic would be a better choice than two of the latter, and certainly gives a less rarefied view of France than the likes of Marcel Pagnol. Bernardine Evaristo. I liked her distinctive voice and her way of telling a story in Girl, Woman, Other . I recognised a great deal of myself in that book and it was different from what I had found in French writers.

This coming of age novel was recommended to me by Rida and while I didn’t like it as much as I had hoped to, I did find it very stark and honest in its portrayal of life on the poor side in Paris, France. I don’t know about you guys but I have a very selective way of thinking about Paris. To me, it is the city of lights, romance and fluffy pastries. Before I read this book, I didn’t think about the people who populated the city, who breathe, live and animate this city. There’s this authenticity in the narrator’s voice, this matter of fact manner of relating facts that I could not help but respond to.

Guven's prose is far more slang-heavy than Gue ne's in Kiffe Kiffe Demain , but it drew praise from literary critics , with one saying the writer had delivered "an energetic renewal of the French language", given the book's unique rhythm. 'Older Brother' by Mahir Guven, has helped bring Arabic words into French mainstream literature. Later when my breasts are bigger and I’m a little bit more intelligent, like when I’m adult, I’ll join up with a group that helps people... Dad, he wanted a son. For his pride, his reputation, his family honor, and I’m sure lots of other stupid reasons.” A travers son histoire Doria livre sans misérabilisme, une image de sa banlieue parisienne, Livry-Gargan, celle de toute une communauté multi-culturelle marquée par le manque de ressources et de considération. And that novel, Kiffe Kiffe Demain (Just Like Tomorrow), would then be published in 2004, to great acclaim. To date, it has sold 400,000 copies in France alone and it is now even used as reading material in high schools.Après un début qui nous interpelle et qui déclenche la révolte, le lecteur lit avec soulagement la suite de l'histoire qui redonne l'espoir et donne l'envie de le faire lire autour de soi. Arts, Humanities and Cultures • AQA A-level History: Britain 1851-1964: Challenge and Transformation Born in Bobigny, France, in 1985, to parents of Algerian origin, [1] Guène grew up in Pantin, in the northeastern suburbs of Paris. She attended Collège Jean Jaurès, followed by Lycée Marcelin Berthelot in Pantin. [2] She began studies in sociology at Université Paris VIII, in St-Denis, before abandoning them to pursue writing and directing full-time.