Margins
Discretion book cover
Discretion
2020
First Published
4.28
Average Rating
227
Number of Pages
Yamina Taleb is approaching her seventieth birthday. These days, she strives for a quiet life, grateful to the country that hosts her and her adored family. The closest she gets to drama is scooping ‘revolutionary’ bargains in the form of plastic kitchenware gadgets. But Yamina’s children feel differently about life in Paris. They don’t always fit in, and it hurts. Omar wonders whether it’s too late to change course as he watches the world pass him by from the driver’s seat of his Uber. His sisters are tired of having to prove themselves and their allegiance to a place that is at once home, and not. When the Talebs go away together on holiday – not to the motherland, but to a villa-with-pool rental near the Atlantic coast – they come to realise just how strongly family defines our sense of belonging. Moving between Algeria and Paris, Discretion touchingly evokes the realities of a first- and second-generation family as they carve out a future for themselves in France, finding one another as they go along. Winner of the Prix Maryse Condé 2020 Best Summer Books of 2022 - Fiction in Translation—Financial Times ‘Wonderful. A vivid, soulful novel. Guène’s Paris is a place of grifting and grafting where young rebels rub up against calcified traditions. This is a writer at the height of her powers, addressing issues of migration and belonging with defiancé, zest and humour.’— Bidisha ‘Faiza Guene is an important voice in French literature, rebelliously dissecting ideas of home, identity and belonging with a universally accessible intimacy and power.’— Diana Evans ‘One of the hottest literary talents of multicultural Europe.’— Sunday Telegraph ‘Through the lens of an often-tender family portrait, the author delivers a biting portrayal of a France steeped in hypocrisy and false smiles, where equality of opportunity is all smoke and mirrors … A novel that’s bang on the money, coursing with a chillingly legitimate sense of grievance.’— Slate ‘Like every accomplished novel, La Discrétion does so much more than tell a story. It asks questions ... Faïza Guène’s mastery of her subject matter means she doesn’t come down on either side but accompanies her characters towards the light.’— Le Monde Diplomatique
Avg Rating
4.28
Number of Ratings
961
5 STARS
48%
4 STARS
36%
3 STARS
13%
2 STARS
3%
1 STARS
0%
goodreads

Author

Faïza Guène
Faïza Guène
Author · 8 books

Faïza Guène is a French writer and director. Born to parents of Algerian origin, she grew up in Pantin, in the north-eastern suburbs of Paris. She attended Collège Jean Jaurès followed by Lycée Marcelin Berthelot in Pantin. She began studies in sociology at Université Paris VIII, in St-Denis, before abandoning them to pursue writing and directing full-time. Her first novel, "Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow" was published in 2004 when Guène was nineteen years old. The novel has sold over 200,000 copies and been translated into twenty-two different languages, and paved the way for her following work, "Some Dream for Fools" (2006) and "Les gens du Balto" (2008). Guène has also written for "Respect" magazine since 2005 and directed several short films, including "Rien que des mots" (2004).

548 Market St PMB 65688, San Francisco California 94104-5401 USA
© 2025 Paratext Inc. All rights reserved