The Most Secret Memory of Men
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Book Overview
A Best Book of 2023 by the New York Times and The New Yorker and Longlisted for the National Book Award
A gripping literary mystery in the vein of Bola o's Savage Detectives, this coming-of-age novel unravels the fascinating life of a maligned Black author, based on Yambo Ouologuem.
The first Sub-Saharan African winner of France's top literary prize, the Goncourt. In 2018, Di gane Latyr Faye, a young Senegalese writer in Paris, discovers a legendary book from the 1930s, The Labyrinth of Inhumanity. No one knows what became of its author, once hailed as the "Black Rimbaud," after the book caused a scandal. Enthralled by this mystery, Di gane decides to search for T.C. Elimane, going down a path that will force him to confront the great tragedies of history, from colonialism to the Holocaust. Alongside his investigation, Di gane becomes part of a group of young African writers in Paris. Together they talk, drink, make love, philosophize about the role of exile in artistic creation. Di gane grows particularly close to two women: the seductive Siga, who holds so many secrets, and the photojournalist A da, impossible to pin down. The Most Secret Memory of Men is an astonishing novel about the choice between living and writing, and the desire to transcend the divide between Africa and the West. Above all, it is an ode to literature and its timelessness.
A gripping literary mystery in the vein of Bola o's Savage Detectives, this coming-of-age novel unravels the fascinating life of a maligned Black author, based on Yambo Ouologuem.
The first Sub-Saharan African winner of France's top literary prize, the Goncourt. In 2018, Di gane Latyr Faye, a young Senegalese writer in Paris, discovers a legendary book from the 1930s, The Labyrinth of Inhumanity. No one knows what became of its author, once hailed as the "Black Rimbaud," after the book caused a scandal. Enthralled by this mystery, Di gane decides to search for T.C. Elimane, going down a path that will force him to confront the great tragedies of history, from colonialism to the Holocaust. Alongside his investigation, Di gane becomes part of a group of young African writers in Paris. Together they talk, drink, make love, philosophize about the role of exile in artistic creation. Di gane grows particularly close to two women: the seductive Siga, who holds so many secrets, and the photojournalist A da, impossible to pin down. The Most Secret Memory of Men is an astonishing novel about the choice between living and writing, and the desire to transcend the divide between Africa and the West. Above all, it is an ode to literature and its timelessness.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:1635423279
ISBN13:9781635423273
Release Date:September 2023
Publisher:Other Press (NY)
Length:496 Pages
Weight:1.28 lbs.
Dimensions:1.3" x 5.4" x 8.2"
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La Plus Secrète Mémoire des hommes Mentions in Our Blog
2023 National Book Awards Longlist
Published by Amanda Cleveland • September 17, 2023
Presented by the National Book Foundation, the National Book Awards celebrate the best writing in America. Every year, a winner is chosen in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, literature in translation, and young people’s literature from 10 finalists. Here are this year’s nominated titles.
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