Where and why you should see Gaël Faye this summer
Sarah Ardizzone, Zoe Norridge & Gaël Faye in Caravansérail © Christopher Andreou
Dans la vieille maison de briques, de la Belgique sous les tropiques A l’heure des choses statiques j’invente, je me fabrique
If you haven't heard yet of Gaël Faye, composer, rap artist and the author of Small Country, you might want to listen to some of his productions as musician. Rumour has it it was through music that Gaël Faye was discovered by his editor, Catherine Nabokov: as her son was listening to his songs, she explains: “I thought the lyrics were very well written and also some of his songs were built like narratives, in particular “L’ennui des après-midis sans fin” (The boredom of afternoons without end).” She then contacted Gaël Faye, and they started meeting regularly. “Then one day he sent me ten pages which were the beginning of a novel and I thought ‘wow!’ He told me that he’d decided to write a novel and not a memoir because he felt it gave him more freedom.” (Tobias Grey, New York Times).
Petit Pays was born a few months later, published by Grasset, and its English version, Small Country, is published by Hogarth in a translation by Sarah Ardizzone. It was our book of the week a few weeks ago (more on our specific post), and is now available in 35 languages.
Gaël Faye's first novel has been received with much enthusiasm in the English-speaking world. Angelique Chrisafis's review in the Guardian praises the subtlety of its contrasts:
Its page-turning appeal lies in its deceptively gentle style: there is the tinkling of cutlery on plates, the mother silently massaging her temples, while beyond the front door, ethnic violence creeps up like a rising tide.
Small Country is also the name that Gaël Faye gave one of his songs. In the interview, the writer/composer compares the two forms of arts between which he navigates: "Writing a novel is like being in the middle of an ocean and choosing where you want to float, but a song is like a flowing river: there are river banks and you have to stay inside them."
Gaël Faye was in Peckham Review Bookshop on June 7th and in Caravansérail on June 9th, in a conversation with Sarah Ardizzone, who translated Small Country, and Zoe Norridge, senior lecturer in African and Comparative Literature at KCL.
© Christopher Andreou
But if you haven't had the chance to come and listen to him, you can still catch him later this summer at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, as well as in the Institut français d'Ecosse - don't miss out!
Gaël Faye will be in the Institut français d'Ecosse for an informal conversation with Lucie Campos and Sarah Ardizzone on August 24 at 6pm.
On August 26, at 7pm, the Edinburgh Book Festival presents a musical storytelling of Faye’s Small Country. Rwandan musician Samuel Kamanzi joins Gaël Faye, actor Thierry Lawson and the book’s translator Sarah Ardizzone, in a performance of haunting music and vibrant accounts in English and French. Come and witness the acclaimed novel brought to life.
© Simon Ardizzone
Don't forget to follow the Book Office's official Twitter account for more literary news!