Marwan Chahine’s book, Beirut, April 13, 1975. Autopsy of a spark (Belfond editions) won the Adelf France-Lebanon Prize.
In a press release, the jury praised “this ambitious work, of more than 550 pages, which carries out demanding research around a major date in the history of Lebanon”. The result of this long and meticulous work is presented in the dual form of an investigation and the story of this investigation, continues the jury for whom this work takes on an autobiographical dimension which makes it particularly endearing and singular. If it provides solidly established answers, believe the jurors, this work raises many questions. And implicitly draws the portrait of a country haunted by its ghosts, trapped by a past that it nevertheless avoids questioning with lucidity. “Chahine courageously takes on all these paradoxes and manages to fascinate us, confronting multiple versions of the same event, finding a multitude of protagonists who never tell the same story. There remains a question that is more relevant than ever: how should we tell our stories, and our history? »concludes the press release.
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April 13, 1975: Anatomy of a fatal gear
Born in Lyon in 1982, Marwan Chahine studied philosophy before turning to journalism. He was notably a correspondent in Cairo for the daily Liberation between 2011 and 2014. Installed in Lebanon in 2015, he embarked on a project of an article on the event considered to be the trigger of the civil war: the attack on a Palestinian bus in the district of Aïn el- Remmané, April 13, 1975. He did not know then that this investigation would become a book and occupy him for almost ten years. He now lives between Marseille and Beirut and, aside from his writing activities, works as a teacher and consultant.
-The jury, chaired since 2016 by Georgia Makhlouf, includes Carmen Boustany, Albert Dichy, Valérie Marin La Meslée, Abdallah Naaman, Bahjat Rizk and Hyam Yared. Since the 2022 edition, the winner is invited to join the jury and participate in its choices for one year; Oliver Rohe, last year’s winner with his novel Seaside song (Allia editions), therefore joined the deliberations.
The book by Marwan Chahine, Beirut, April 13, 1975. Autopsy of a Spark (Belfond editions) won the Adelf France-Lebanon Prize. In a press release, the jury praised “this ambitious work, of more than 550 pages, which carries out demanding research around a major date in the history of Lebanon”. The result of this long and meticulous work is…
Swiss
