Who is Tahar Ben Jelloun?
Tahar Ben Jelloun was born in Fez, Morocco in 1944, and emigrated to France in 1971. He is an award-winning and internationally bestselling novelist, essayist, critic and poet. He won the Prix Maghreb, the Prix Goncourt (the first North African to win France's top literary prize), and the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. He is regularly shortlisted for the Nobel Prize in Literature, and his work has been shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize. He received the rank of Officier de la Légion d’honneur in 2008. He lives in Paris and Tangier... and guess what? He will be visiting X Scotland X this summer!
28 August 2016 - 12:30 - Edinburgh International Book Festival
Tahar Ben Jelloun will present his book About my Mother, translated by Ros Schwartz and recently published in the UK by Telegram. This compelling novelisation of his mother’s life, beautifully and tenderly tells the story of her descent into dementia. He will be in discussion with Irenosen Okojie, author of Butterfly Fish, an astonishingly assured debut novel about a mother whose death leaves a striking legacy and a route into the history of Nigeria and ancient Benin. More info here.
28 August 2016 - 18:00 - Institut Français d'Ecosse in Edinburgh, Vive le Fringe! In partnership with our team, the Institut Français d'Ecosse will present during the Fringe Festival a series of informal and open discussions with four French authors.who will talk about their work. Tahar ben Jelloun will be one of them! To attend one of these Cafés Littéraires, call this number: 0131 225 5366. It's free, but booking is essential! More info here.
Titles in English translation published in the UK :
About My Mother, translated by Ros Schwartz & Lulu Norman, published by Telegram (Saqi Books)
"Since she’s been ill, Lalla Fatma has become a frail little thing with a faltering memory. As her mind becomes more muddled, Fatma starts to believe that she is in Fez in 1944 – where she grew up – not in Tangier in 2000, where the story begins. During his visits, Tahar, her son, patiently sits by her side and listens as she summons members of her family who are long dead and quietly yearns for her first and only love. Guided by these fragments, Tahar vividly reimagines his mother’s life in post-war Morocco: married while still playing with dolls; widowed too young; and for whom resignation was the only way out."
Leaving Tangier, translated by Linda Coverdale, published by Arcadia
Young Moroccans gather regularly in a seafront cafe to gaze at the lights on the Spanish coast glimmering in the distance. Azel, the protagonist, is intent on leaving in one way or another. On the brink of despair he meets Miguel, a wealthy Spanish gallery owner who promises to take him to Barcelona if Azel will become his lover.
A Palace in the Old Village, translated by Linda Coverdale, published by Arcadia
A heartbreaking novel about parents and children, the powerful pull of home and the yearning for tradition and family. Mohammed has spent the past 40 years working in France. As he approaches retirement, he takes stock of his life – his devotion to Islam and to his assimilated children – and decides to return to Morocco, where he spends his life's savings building the biggest house in the village and waiting for his children and grandchildren to come and be with him.
More titles available in English (U.S. publications)
