Description: Alternating fragments from Yamina's Algerian past with those of her Paris present, Discretion spans the history of colonial conflict from the Second World War to the present day. A tribute to mothers everywhere, it is also the story of a modern French family feeling their way through the puzzle of their history - and finding one another as they go along.
Brief description:
Sarah Ardizzone has translated more than fifty titles from around the French-speaking world, including by Daniel Pennac, Gaël Faye, Alain Mabanckou and Yasmina Reza. Her translation of Faïza Guène's
Kiffe-Kiffe Demain (Just Like Tomorrow) won the Scott Moncrieff Prize and the IBBY UK Honour title, and was shortlisted for the Young Minds Book Award and longlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction
Prize and the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.
Review Quotes:
'Through the lens of an often-tender family portrait, the author delivers a biting portrayal of a France steeped in hypocrisy and false smiles, where equality of opportunity is all smoke and mirrors ... A novel that's bang on the money, coursing with a chillingly legitimate sense of grievance.' Slate
'Like
every accomplished novel, La Discrétion does so much more than tell a story. It asks questions ... Faïza Guène's mastery of her subject matter means she doesn't come down on either side but accompanies her
characters towards the light.' Le Monde Diplomatique
'Faiza Guene is an important voice in French literature, rebelliously dissecting ideas of home, identity and belonging with a universally accessible intimacy and power.' Diana Evans
'Wonderful. A vivid, soulful novel. Guène's Paris is a place of grifting and grafting where young rebels rub up against calcified traditions. This is a writer at the height of her powers, addressing issues of migration and belonging with defiance, zest and humour.' Bidisha
'One of the hottest literary talents of multicultural Europe.' Sunday Telegraph