Interview conducted by Manuela Salvi, journalist at RTS.
Born in Morocco, Leïla Slimani is a graduate of the Institut d’Études Politiques in Paris. A writer and columnist for various weekly publications, she has been translated into numerous languages and chaired the prestigious International Booker Prize jury in 2023. An activist, Slimani addresses sensitive, often taboo subjects with subtlety and great intelligence in her works: nymphomania in Dans le jardin de l’ogre (Gallimard, 2014), child murder and social poverty in Chanson douce (Gallimard, winner of the Prix Goncourt 2016), and patriarchal violence and hypocrisy in Sexe et mensonges: la vie sexuelle au Maroc (Les Arènes, 2021).
Her latest book, J’emporterai le feu, is the stunning final installment of her trilogy Le pays des autres (Gallimard), a powerful family saga that here takes on heartbreaking tones, infused with a strong breath and vigorous poetry.
In French.