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Presentation of Infieles, by Abdellah Taia
From June 03, 2014 until June 11, 2014
On Wednesday, June 11, this Moroccan writer will be presenting his latest novel at Casa Árabe.
The event, organized by Casa Árabe and the Cabaret Voltaire publishing firm, will also include the presence of Javier Valenzuela, a journalist and writer, and Lydia Vázquez Jiménez, translator. It will take place at the Casa Árabe Auditorium in Madrid at 7:00 p.m. In French with simultaneous translation into Spanish.
Moreover, Abdellah Taia will be signing his novel at the Madrid Book Fair, in the stand set up by Casa Árabe-Balqís (nº 10) on Wednesday, June 11 from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.
“The novel tells the story of Selima, a Moroccan prostitute, and her son Jalal. Both suffer poverty and humiliation. They know just how to handle men and get enough from them to scrape by. However, the marginalization, persecution by the police and torture end up forcing them to leave Morocco for good. The promise of a better life awaits then in Cairo. Pure and impure, this mother and her son constantly reinvent the deeper meaning of their changing lives and their commitment to Morocco made of both love and hate. From one stage to the next, they rediscover their religion, Islam, and live it in a new and intense way, firmly holding onto their beliefs up to the end: the prophet Mohammed’s tomb in Medina for her, sublime immolation for him.”
Cabaret Voltaire Publishing Firm
Abdellah Taia (Salé, 1973)
A Moroccan writer who writes in the French language, after completing his studies in Literature at the Mohamed V University in Rabat, Mr. Taia took up residence in Paris in 1998, where his literary career began. Up to now, in addition to other texts, he has had a total of six novels published: Mon Maroc (My Morocco, Cabaret Voltaire, 2009, which received the Cálamo Award), Le Rouge du tarbouche (The Red of the Tarbouche), Salvation Army, An Arab Melancholia, The Day of the King and now in its Spanish-language version, Infidels. Always attentive to current political events in Morocco and the Arab world, Taia regularly contributes opinion articles in the international press. In 2012, he directed his first film, L’Armée du salut (Salvation Army), based on his novel of the same name.
Lydia Vázquez Jiménez
A professor of French Philology at UPV/EHU, she is a specialist in libertine literature and gender studies. She combines her work as an educator with literary creation and translation.
Moreover, Abdellah Taia will be signing his novel at the Madrid Book Fair, in the stand set up by Casa Árabe-Balqís (nº 10) on Wednesday, June 11 from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.
“The novel tells the story of Selima, a Moroccan prostitute, and her son Jalal. Both suffer poverty and humiliation. They know just how to handle men and get enough from them to scrape by. However, the marginalization, persecution by the police and torture end up forcing them to leave Morocco for good. The promise of a better life awaits then in Cairo. Pure and impure, this mother and her son constantly reinvent the deeper meaning of their changing lives and their commitment to Morocco made of both love and hate. From one stage to the next, they rediscover their religion, Islam, and live it in a new and intense way, firmly holding onto their beliefs up to the end: the prophet Mohammed’s tomb in Medina for her, sublime immolation for him.”
Cabaret Voltaire Publishing Firm
Abdellah Taia (Salé, 1973)
A Moroccan writer who writes in the French language, after completing his studies in Literature at the Mohamed V University in Rabat, Mr. Taia took up residence in Paris in 1998, where his literary career began. Up to now, in addition to other texts, he has had a total of six novels published: Mon Maroc (My Morocco, Cabaret Voltaire, 2009, which received the Cálamo Award), Le Rouge du tarbouche (The Red of the Tarbouche), Salvation Army, An Arab Melancholia, The Day of the King and now in its Spanish-language version, Infidels. Always attentive to current political events in Morocco and the Arab world, Taia regularly contributes opinion articles in the international press. In 2012, he directed his first film, L’Armée du salut (Salvation Army), based on his novel of the same name.
Lydia Vázquez Jiménez
A professor of French Philology at UPV/EHU, she is a specialist in libertine literature and gender studies. She combines her work as an educator with literary creation and translation.
