La nuit sacrée: roman

Tahar Ben Jelloun

Editions du Seuil, 1995 - Middle East - 188 pages

Dans L'Enfant de sable, publié en 1985, Ahmed était la fille d'un homme humilié de ne pas avoir d'héritier mâle, et qui avait décidé, dans le secret de la maison, que celle-ci en serait un. Elevé(e) en garçon, habillée en garçon, son histoire était dite par un conteur incertain, fabulateur peut-être. Dans La nuit sacrée, Ahmed devenu vieux (ou vieille) prend à son tour la parole et livre sa propre version des événements - la vraie ? -, son autobiographie en somme. Le récit, comme emboîté dans le précédent peut cependant se lire isolément.

About the author

Controversial winner of the prestigious French Prix Goncourt (1987), Tahar Ben Jelloun is a Moroccan writer who has not found much favor at home, despite his growing popularity abroad. According to some North African critics, Ben Jelloun intentionally sets out to please foreign readers. They contend that his writing reinforces European stereotypes by pandering to Western tastes for quaint folklore and traditions, and exotic scenery. Moroccan critics have accused Ben Jelloun of creating artificial, fabricated stories that fail to convey a true picture of Morocco. They have also been offended by his criticism of Morocco, and the fact that he reveals sides of Moroccan life that are usually kept hidden. Ben Jelloun's story of a girl dressed as a boy, L'Enfant du Sable (The Sand Child) (1985), was scandalous in their eyes. Since Ben Jelloun won the Prix Goncourt, a number of critics changed their minds and have begun to praise his work.

Bibliographic information

• Title: La nuit sacrée: roman; Collection Points; Page 113 of Collection Points: Série Roman; Volume 113 of Points (Paris); Volume 113 of Points / [Éditions du Seuil]; Page 113 of Points. Roman
• Author: Tahar Ben Jelloun
• Edition: 2, reprint
• Publisher: Editions du Seuil, 1995
• ISBN: 2020255839, 9782020255837
• Length: 188 pages