On Tuesday, February 17, MansA invites Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, winner of the 2021 Prix Goncourt, for a special event centered around his best-selling novel La plus secrète mémoire des hommes(The Most Secret Memory of Men), on the occasion of its theatrical adaptation at the MC93.
On the occasion of the theatrical adaptation of La plus secrète mémoire des hommes(The Most Secret Memory of Men), presented at the MC93 from February 4 to 8, MansA invites author Mohamed Mbougar Sarr to revisit this best-selling novel, which won him the Prix Goncourt in 2021.
In 2018, Diégane Latyr Faye, a young Senegalese writer, discovered a legendary book in Paris, published in 1938: Le labyrinthe de l’inhumain(The Labyrinth of the Inhuman). The author, described at the time as a "Negro Rimbaud," disappeared without a trace after the scandal sparked by the publication of his text. Fascinated, Diégane set out on the trail of the mysterious T.C. Elimane, confronting the great tragedies of colonialism and the Holocaust.
Without ever losing sight of this quest that consumes him, Diégane, in Paris, frequents a group of young African authors: they observe each other, discuss, drink, make love a lot, and question the necessity of creating from exile. In this novel, Mohamed Mbougar Sarr explores the urgent need for literature and the desire to move beyond the question of the confrontation between Africa and the West.
The discussion will be moderated by El Hadj Souleymane Gassama, known as Elgas, journalist, writer, and producer of the program Afrique, mémoires d'un continent (Africa, Memories of a Continent) on RFI.
Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, born in Senegal in 1990, lives in France and has published four novels: Terre ceinte (Présence africaine, 2015, winner of the Ahmadou-Kourouma Prize and the Grand Prix du roman métis), Silence du chœur (Présence africaine, 2017, Littérature-Monde – Étonnants Voyageurs 2018 prize), De purs hommes (Philippe Rey/Jimsaan, 2018) and La plus secrète mémoire des hommes (Philippe Rey/Jimsaan, Goncourt prize 2021).
El Hadj Souleymane Gassama, known as Elgas, isa journalist, writer, and associate researcher at IRIS (Institut de Relations Internationales et Stratégiques). He produces the radio program Afrique, mémoires d’un continent (Africa, Memories of a Continent) on RFI (Radio France Internationale). He is the author of several books (novels, essays, biographies), the latest of which is Les bons ressentiments (Riveneuve, 2023).
