Discretion Book Launch: An evening with the translator

To close Feminist Book Fortnight, join us at Books on the Rise to celebrate the paperback release of Discretion, the award-winning novel by Faiza Guene.

Best Summer Books of 2022 – Fiction in Translation – Financial Times

‘One of the hottest literary talents of multicultural Europe.’-Sunday Telegraph

Set between Paris today and 1950s Algeria, Discretion tells a story that rarely gets told or heard – the experience of the Algerian women, wives and mothers who immigrated to France after Algerian independence, and how they coped with living between two cultures. Alternating fragments from Yamina’s Algerian past with those of her Paris present, Discretion spans the history of colonial conflict from the Second World War to the present day. A tribute to mothers everywhere, it is also the story of a modern French family feeling their way through the puzzle of their history – and finding one another as they go.

‘Wonderful. A vivid, soulful novel. Guène’s Paris is a place of grifting and grafting where young rebels rub up against calcified traditions. This is a writer at the height of her powers, addressing issues of migration and belonging with defiance, zest and humour.’- Bidisha

We are delighted to be joined by the award winning translator Sarah Ardizzone. Her translation of Faïza’s first novel won the Scott Moncrieff Prize and was shortlisted for the Young Minds Book Award. Ardizzone’s other authors include Gaël Faye, Yasmina Reza, Daniel Pennac and Alexandre Dumas.

Sarah will be in conversation with Dina Moussawi, creative producer of the touring multimedia adaptation of Discretion.

With gratitude to Saqi books for collaborating on this event for #feministbookfortnight.

*Reviews*

‘Faïza Guène is an important voice in French literature, rebelliously dissecting ideas of home, identity and belonging with a universally accessible intimacy and power.’- Diana Evans

‘Guène is too important a writer to dismiss … she deserves to be heard.’- Independent

‘She writes her novel like one might narrate a film, with a poetic prose that reveals detailed glimpses into the generations of the Taleb family, hardened and shaped by war, immigration and racism.’ -The National

‘A remarkably incisive novel’- L’Obs

‘Through the lens of an often-tender family portrait, the author delivers a biting portrayal of a France steeped in hypocrisy and false smiles, where equality of opportunity is all smoke and mirrors … A novel that’s bang on the money, coursing with a chillingly legitimate sense of grievance.’ -Slate