L’últim patriarca
The Last Patriach | Planeta, 2008
» Prix Ulysse 2009
» Shortlisted for the Prix Méditerranée étranger 2009
Through a masterly and deliberate use of the resources of oral tradition, the author Najat El Hachmi constructs a modern fable punctuated by moments of great tenderness and others of brutal drama, all of them peppered with a sense of humour that verges on the corrosive.
Mimoun and her daughter exist to fulfil the role that has been assigned them by the patriarchy, but a change in their lives will forever alter the order of things. Mimoun Driouch’s daughter narrates her life from the time she was born until she is about to go to university. She wants to understand her father, she needs to know what has turned him an authoritarian and despotic figure to come to terms with the role he plays in her life.
«Najat El Hachmi's narrative poise, humour and fresh, unrepressed language turn her painful subject-matter into a pleasure to read.» Michael Eaude, The Independent
«A wonderful and necessary book which comes at the right time. Najat El Hachmi shows in her autobiographical novel how to overthrow a patriarch: through literature.» Ernst von Osterkamp, Frankfurter Allgemeine
«Boldly mixes family and cultural history, feminist polemic and satirical humour…The undercurrent of menace in the complicated relationship between father and daughter is leavened but the buoyancy of the translation and El Hachmi’s light, conversational writing; the ending is truly transgressive.» Catherine Taylor, The Guardian
«A story that skillfully blends drama and comedy, seriousness and humour.» Pierre-Robert Leclercq, Le Monde des Livres
«An engaged writer, who takes risks with a book that delves into the relationships among a family of emigrants, and particularly explores the paternal figure and his brutality dramatized by the cultural crossroads.» Esther Bendahan, ABC
«A book which has been widely acclaimed both due to its strength and to the fact that is the first -or one of the first- literary fruits of the new multicultural Catalan (and Spanish) society.» Sergio Vila-San Juan, La Vanguardia
«A well-rounded novel that is both dramatic and funny; piquant, tender and scary.» Xavier Pla, Avui
«(A story) Told with a masterly touch.» Julià Guillamon, La Vanguardia
«Using clear prose, El Hachmi builds a character, a patriarch, that is difficult to forget (...).» Susana Jiménez, El Periódico
Arabic: Yola Books; English: The Serpent's Tail;Â France: Actes Sud; French Club: Le Grand Livre du Mois; Germany: Wagenbach; Italy:Â Newton Compton; Netherlands: Orlando; Portugal: Planeta Manuscrito; Romania: Curtea Veche; Serbia: Kosmos: Turkey: Sel Yayinlari; Vasque: Txalaparta
