Description
Initially a little intrigued, all babies eventually return the security guard’s smile.
The security guard adores babies.
Perhaps because babies do not shoplift.
Babies adore the security guard.
Perhaps because he does not drag babies to the sales.
The 1960s – Ferdinand arrives in Paris from Cote d’Ivoire, ready to take on the world and become a big somebody.
The 1990s – It is the Golden Age of immigration, and Ossiri and Kassoum navigate a Paris on the brink of momentous change.
The 2010s – In a Sephora on the Champs-Elysees, the all-seeing eyes of a security guard observes the habits of those who come to worship at this church to consumerism.
Amidst the political bickering of the inhabitants of the Residence for Students from Cote d’Ivoire and the ever-changing landscape of French immigration policy, Ferdinand, Ossiri and Kassoum, two generations of Ivoirians, attempt to make their way as undocumented workers, taking shifts as security at a flour mill.
Translated from the French by Frank Wynne
‘Inventive and very funny’ – Guardian
‘A compact, humane satire’ – Financial Times
‘One of those rare, transformative novels’ – Karim Miske
‘Funny and poignant’ – Tiffany Tsao
