“The novel is a lie, but a lie that tells the truth”, it is with this sentence, both paradoxical and intelligible, that Leïla Slimani captivated the attention of the audience to bring them closer to the simple and exhilarating character of her literature.
In front of a packed room, the novelist stressed that in the novel, it is about inventing things that do not exist in reality, but which nevertheless carry a truth, noting that reality sometimes seems boring, hence the interest in using writing as a means of escaping and creating one’s own imaginary world.
“My identity is fundamentally being a novelist, because I love the work of the imagination,” she said, calling for people not to be prevented from telling a good story “under the pretext that it is not entirely true.”
Describing the novel as frightening and dizzying, Leïla Slimani explained that this literary genre seems difficult and complex, but complete, in which “you are at the same time a photographer, director, actor, costume designer…”.
The novel represents absolute art, the writer said, noting that it occupies a great place in life, mind and body, especially since it requires such commitment that all other daily tasks seem much easier.
Leïla Slimani, who calls herself “a writer of the ulterior motive,” intends to tell the world through the eyes of her characters, while refusing to give in to “monolithic discourses” and favoring an architecture of words and a writing of feelings.
“Before being a novelist, I am a reader. I spent my childhood, my adolescence and my youth reading books,” the novelist also recalled. “I spent more time reading than living,” she said.
She also highlighted the need to be able to live together on a common foundation that allows people to lead a peaceful life without necessarily sharing the same visions.
“This is what makes Morocco rich,” she said, citing the fact of being able to speak several languages, having different points of view and allowing cohabitation and coexistence between people who think differently.
Born in Rabat, Leïla Slimani is a graduate of Sciences-Po Paris and the Ecole supérieure de commerce de Paris. After working in cinema and theatre, she became a journalist at the weekly Jeune Afrique in 2008. For four years, her work as a reporter allowed her to indulge her passion for travel, encounters and discovering the world.
In 2014, she published her first novel with Gallimard, “Dans les Jardins de l’ogre” which won the Mamounia Prize. Her second novel, “Chanson douce”, won the 2016 Goncourt Prize, as well as the 2017 Elle Readers’ Grand Prize.
2024-09-15 19:30:07