This is a particularly anticipated end point at the start of the year: the conclusion of Leïla Slimani's trilogy, The Land of Others. This family fresco, which spans the upheavals of Morocco throughout the second half of the 20th century, began in 2020 with War, war, warbefore continuing in 2022 with Watch us dance. This January 23, the author, crowned with the Goncourt prize in 2016 for sweet songfinally delivers the end of this moving saga, with I will take away the fire.
A writer with a sharp pen
In just a few years, Leïla Slimani has become an essential voice in contemporary literature. Born in 1981 in Rabat, she first made a name for herself with novels tackling taboo themes, such as female sexuality in In the ogre's garden (2014) or the social tensions in sweet songwhich earned him international recognition.
His writing, known to be precise and incisive, explores human contradictions directly, mixing intimate fragilities with universal questions. Slimani, who defines himself as a “artisan” of writing, is also recognized for her commitment and her ability to make other voices heard, whether women's stories or postcolonial stories.
A successful trilogy
With The Land of Othersthe novelist began in 2020 a fresco retracing a family history, inspired by her own family, and that of Morocco through three generations. The first volume follows Mathilde, a young Alsatian who moved to Morocco with her husband Amine after the Second World War. Isolated on an arid farm, Mathilde discovers a country where cultural and political tensions shape her daily life.
Two years later, Watch us dance continues this saga with a dive into the 1960s and 1970s. Morocco has just gained its independence, and Amine and Mathilde fight to find their place in a changing society. Their daughter, Aïcha, returns to France for her studies, facing cultural shock and the expectations of a world that always seems to have to be rebuilt.
The long-awaited final point
With I will take away the fireLeïla Slimani concludes her trilogy by focusing on the third generation of the Belhaj family, that of the 1980s-1990s. The granddaughters of Mathilde and Amine, Mia and Inès, live in a Morocco always in transition, torn between tradition and modernity, and face new challenges: globalization, rise of Islamism, exile, racism, quest for freedom …
-This section is of particular importance for the author, who depicts a Morocco that she knew as a child. “These 1980s and 1990s look like a lost world to meshe explains in an interview with Telerama. My children find it hard to believe me when I tell them about the Morocco of my youth. » She describes a country marked by profound contrasts, where “There is a growing gap between the elite and the population – and, produced by these inequalities, immense anger, riots, the rise of Islamism”.
A novel inspired by real life
The themes of exile and identity also find particular resonance in the journey of Mia, who leaves Morocco to settle in Paris, reflecting Slimani's personal experience. “The solitude, the impression of a city that is both very beautiful and inaccessible. The harshness of people. And this ambiguous feeling of wanting to be one, and at the same time, as we are upset not to be one, of adding to our difference: I am not like you, I am Moroccan…”she confides.
For Slimani, this novel goes beyond the exploration of the past: “It is not so much a story about the past as about the futures that did not happen, not a book about memory, but about utopias and aborted dreams. »
Critics seduced
This last volume was widely praised by critics. The Parisian describes it as a novel which “takes us on board without letting go”highlighting the power of clear writing anchored in the contradictions of Morocco in the 1980s and 1990s. WhileNews also highlights its ability to “explore the challenges and aspirations of the third generation”et The echo evokes a work which “mixes the intimate with the universal, individual memory with collective history”.
