
L’últim patriarca
Planeta, 2008
Translations
(Arabic World Rights, Yola Books); (France: Actes Sud / Club, Le Grand Livre du Mois); (Germany, Wagenbach); (Holland, Orlando); (Italy, Newton Compton); (Poland, Biuro Literackie); (Portugal, Planeta Manuscrito); (Romania, Curtea Veche); (Turkey, Sel Yayinlari); (Vasque, Txalaparta); (World English, The Serpent's Tail)
Awards
**Ramon Llull Award 2008**
**Prix Ulysse 2009**
**Shortlisted for the Prix Méditerranée étranger 2009**
Press
«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
Synopsis
(The Last Patriarch) 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.
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.
MB Authors
- Pepa AGUAR
- Pablo ARANDA
- Juan Luis ARSUAGA
- Manuel ASTUR
- Flavita BANANA
- Joan BARRIL
- Nuria BARRIOS
- María BASTARÓS
- Felipe BENÍTEZ REYES
- Joan-Daniel BEZSONOFF
- BLACKIE BOOKS
- Joana BONET
- Juan BONILLA
- Emilio BUESO
- Leonardo CANO
- Pablo CARBONELL
- Martín CASARIEGO
- Nicolás CASARIEGO
- Paula CIFUENTES
- Juan CUADRA
- Mario CUENCA SANDOVAL
- Malén DENÍS
- Elizabeth DUVAL
- Maria ESCALAS
- Cristina FALLARÁS
- Eneko FERNÁNDEZ
- Laura FERRERO
- Josep Maria FONALLERAS
- Albert FORNS CANAL
- Miguel GALLARDO
- Olivia GALLO
- Xenia GARCÍA
- Ignacio GARCÍA-VALIÑO
- José A. GARRIGA VELA
- David B. GIL
- Santi GIMÉNEZ
- Marcos GIRALT TORRENTE
- Enric GONZÁLEZ
- Ismael GRASA
- Luci GUTIÉRREZ
- Javier GUTIÉRREZ
- Najat El HACHMI
- Alicia KOPF
- Use LAHOZ
- Lucía LIJTMAER
- Shaina Joy MACHLUS
- Ignacio MARTÍNEZ DE PISóN
- Ramon MAS
- Ana MERINO
- Luna MIGUEL
- Amarna MILLER
- Miquel OBIOLS
- Bruno ORO
- Miqui OTERO
- Anna PACHECO
- Vicenç PAGÈS JORDÀ
- Enric PARDO
- Concepción PEREA
- Juan Manuel DE PRADA
- Jordi PUNTÍ
- Llucia RAMIS
- Antonio J. RODRÍGUEZ
- Félix ROMEO
- Carmen ROMERO
- Xavier RUBERT DE VENTÓS
- Gemma RUIZ
- Juanjo SÁEZ
- Gabriel SALVADÓ
- Màrius SERRA
- Rubén SERRANO
- Ramon SOLSONA
- José Miguel TOMASENA
- David TRUEBA
- Juan VICO
- Enrique VILA-MATAS
- Rosario VILLAJOS
- Rolando VILLAZÓN
- Pedro ZARRALUKI