At FrancoFest, Newmag will present Mohamed Mbougar Sarr's novel "The Most Secret Memory of Men" (trailer)

Set in 1938 Paris, the novel "The Labyrinth of Inhumanity" creates a stir in the literary world. The writer, often compared to Arthur Rimbaud, mysteriously disappears after the book's publication. Years later, the story reaches a young Senegalese writer, Diegan Latir Faye, who is captivated by the novel and sets out to uncover the mystery behind the author's disappearance.

"The Most Secret Memory of Men" is a fusion of several genres, combining elements of an intellectual detective story, a tale of self-discovery and love, as well as a reportage, philosophical essay, autobiography, and even a political pamphlet. Like Sarr's other works, this novel serves as a philosophical reflection on creativity and life, exploring complex relationships and the choices between African and Western countries.

Mohamed Mbougar Sarr states, "The book is about loss: a lost book, a lost author. Each character attempts to uncover what the lost book represents, or what it means to them. In my book, we don’t read that lost book; it’s just a few sentences, and then it’s gone. We experience it through the lives of those who have read it. This forms the direct link between losing and finding."

Mohamed Mbougar Sarr is a Senegalese author born in Dakar to a family of doctors. He is a national of Senegal and graduated from Saint Louis Military School. In 2009, he moved to France, where he studied literature and philosophy at the Paris School of Advanced Studies in Social Sciences. Sarr is the first writer from sub-Saharan Africa to receive France's most prestigious literary prize, the Goncourt, in 2021.

This book explores the themes of writing and life, as well as the complex relationship between Africa and Western civilization. According to The New York Times, it is “a journey through space and time, from modern Paris to post-war Argentina and a remote village in Senegal.”

The presentation of the novel will take place at FrancoFest on October 12 at 1:00 PM, in Hall 1 of the Congress Hotel. Entrance is free, and the book will be available at a discount during the festival.

FRANCOFEST 2024  OFFICIAL PAGE

Partners 

·       Embassy of France in Armenia, 

·       French Institute 

·       French University of Armenia

·       Aznavour Foundation

Sponsors

·       AUF

·       Infinity Travel Armenia by Luxury Voyage

Media Partners  

·       Courrier d'Erevan,

·       Nouvelles d'Arménie