Leïla Sebbar

Early life

Leïla Sebbar was born on 9 November 1941, in Aflou. The daughter of a French mother and an Algerian father, she spent her youth in French Algeria before leaving aged seventeen for Paris, where she now lives.

Career

Sebbar writes in French about the relationship between France and Algeria and often juxtaposes the imagery of both countries to show the difference in cultures between the two. She deals with a variety of topics, and either adopts a purely fictional approach or uses psychology to make her point. Many of Sebbar's novels express the frustrations of the Beur, the second generation of Maghribi youth who were born and raised in France and who have not yet integrated into French society.

Her book Parle mon fils, parle à ta mère (1984; Talk my son, talk to your mother), illustrates the absence of dialogue between two generations who do not speak the same language. The novel tells the story of the final day of a dying man who came from Algeria to France as a young man seeking work. It depicts the story of his youth and shows his viewpoint on the Muslim society and the "3 witches". The reader comes to realise that the man in the story is not fearful of those "witches" but just of dying alone, without another Muslim by his side to read to him the prayer of the dead.

Sebbar never names her characters to keep a sense of anonymity and mysteriousness and it could be said that it does not restrict the story to one personal account but it could relate to anyone and shows the very common viewpoint of those seeking asylum.

Sebbar was awarded the Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters in 2016.

Selected publications