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Zusatztext A powerful family saga . . . [Zeniter] shows how history is passed down from generation to generation, in stories pockmarked by what’s left unsaid. Informationen zum Autor Alice Zeniter was born in 1986. She is the author of four novels; Sombre dimanche (Albin Michel, 2013) won the Prix du Livre Inter, the Prix des lecteurs de l’Express and the Prix de la Closerie des Lilas; Juste avant l’oubli (Flammarion, 2015) won the Prix Renaudot des lycéens. She is a playwright and theatre director. Klappentext Naïma has always known that her family came from Algeria - but up until now, that meant very little to her. Born and raised in France, her knowledge of that foreign country is limited to what she's learnt from her grandparents' tiny flat in a crumbling French sink-estate: the food cooked for her, the few precious things they brought with them when they fled.On the past, her family is silent. Why was her grandfather Ali forced to leave? Was he a harki - an Algerian who worked for and supported the French during the Algerian War of Independence? Once a wealthy land-owner, how did he become an immigrant scratching a living in France? Naïma's father, Hamid, says he remembers nothing. A child when the family left, in France he re-made himself: education was his ticket out of the family home, the key to acceptance into French society. But now for the first time since they left, one of Ali's family is going back. Naïma will see Algeria for herself, will ask the questions about her family's history that till now have had no answers. Spanning three generations across seventy years, Alice Zeniter's The Art of Losing tells the story of how people carry on in the face of loss: the loss of a country, an identity, a way to speak to your children. It's a story of colonization and immigration, and how in some ways, we are a product of the things we've left behind.Translated from the French by Frank Wynne. Vorwort A powerful and moving family story about history, immigration and identity, spanning three generations and some seventy years across the two shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Zusammenfassung Winner of the International Dublin Literary Award 'Remarkable . . . a novel about people that never loses its sense of humanity' – The Sunday Times 'Zeniter’s extraordinary achievement is to transform a complicated conflict into a compelling family chronicle.' – The Wall Street Journal Naïma has always known that her father's family were from Algeria – but up until now, that has meant very little to her. Born and raised in France, her knowledge of that foreign country is limited to what she has learned from her grand parents' tiny flat in a crumbling French sink estate: the food cooked for her, the few precious things they brought with them when they fled. On the past, her family is silent. Why was her grandfather Ali forced to leave? Naïma’s father, Hamid, claims to remember nothing. Now, Naïma will see Algeria for herself, will ask the questions about her family’s history that, until now, have had no answers. Spanning three generations across seventy years, The Art of Losing tells the story of how people carry on in the face of loss – the loss of a country, an identity, a way to speak to your children – a story of colonization and immigration, and how we are a product of the things we have left behind. Translated from the French by Frank Wynne This book is supported by the Institut français (Royaume-Uni) as part of the Burgess programme. ...
