In La discrétion, Faïza Guène recounts the life of an exiled and completely "suppressed" woman, in a country where she feels out of place.  A destiny shared, by many immigrants all over the world, and against which the author's generation revolts, often in ignorance of the hardships overcome by their ancestors. 

 

Faïza Guène, born in 1985 in the suburbs of Paris to Algerian immigrants, is part of a new generation of authors in France, those with Maghreb or Africa origins who approach the subject of immigration with a full understanding of what it means and with great power and humor.  Author of six novels, with her first huge success in 2004 at the age of 19, thanks to her first book, Kiffe kiffe demain, which sold more than 350,000 copies and was translated into 26 languages, has made her voice heard far beyond our borders.

 

In La discrétion, she recounts the fate of Yamina, who is now 70 years old and has always been too restrained, according to her daughters.  Born in 1949 in her beloved Algeria, she had lived through a war before finding herself exiled and married in France where she raised four children in the silence of a hidden past. 

 

"Yamina doesn't like to make waves. And she also doesn't like it when people go out of their way for her. She refuses to be offended when a state agent belittles her at the prefecture or her family doctor patronizes her. This woman’s refusal to be resentful is her way of resisting,” summarizes the magazine Causette. 

 

"For me it is a work that raises an essential and unfortunately universal question that does not concern only Algerians in France: that of the "discretion" that we impose on ourselves when we come from elsewhere," says Florence Maletrez, head of foreign rights at Plon.  

 

Yamina's daughters, all born between 1980 and 1990, cannot bear their mother’s voluntary discretion. This new generation of women like Faïza Guène is anything but discreet. These women fight against racism and supports feminist causes and tries to understand what motivates the different behaviors of each of these two generations.  

 

"I wanted to show that behind this woman, there was a little girl who had dreams. There was a teenager, there is a woman who went through the war, who experienced exile, who had an idea of love and above all, who, deep down was a resistance fighter and that, that was transmitted," she explains. 

 

"Faïza is a big humanitarian and to publish her work is a joy and an honor for Plon," says Florence Maletrez, who helped sell the English-language rights through Faïza Guène's agent in Britain. Other publishers in Spain and Italy, have expressed their interest. The entire work is available in English for the review. Through this work the author wishes to "pay tribute to her mother and all immigrant mothers".

 

Katja Petrovic
May 2022