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I'll Take the Fire
Hardcover
About the author
Leïla Slimani
68 books3,824 followersLeïla Slimani is a French writer and journalist of Moroccan ancestry. In 2016 she was awarded the Prix Goncourt for her novel Chanson douce.
Slimani was born in Rabat, Morocco and studied later political science and media studies in Paris. After that she temporarily considered a career as an actress and began to work as a journalist for the magazine Jeune Afrique. In 2014 she published her first novel Dans le jardin de l’ogre, which two years later was followed by the psychological thriller Chanson douce. The latter quickly turned into a bestseller with over 450,000 copies printed within a year even before the book was awarded the Prix Goncourt.
Slimani was born in Rabat, Morocco and studied later political science and media studies in Paris. After that she temporarily considered a career as an actress and began to work as a journalist for the magazine Jeune Afrique. In 2014 she published her first novel Dans le jardin de l’ogre, which two years later was followed by the psychological thriller Chanson douce. The latter quickly turned into a bestseller with over 450,000 copies printed within a year even before the book was awarded the Prix Goncourt.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 5, 2026
Leïla Slimani's 'I'll Take The Fire' is a beautiful and touching look at two sisters--Mia and Ines--who have a prickly relationship with each other. They have an impossible relationship with their birth country of Morocco, so the novel is a story of exile. It's not just about geographic exiles, but personal and social exiles. Slimani does an excellent job of showing the toll it takes to be a woman in 80s Morocco--a country and culture that does not often give women many options for self-fulfillment. Slimani repeatedly shows the toll it takes on the women in their family. In order to survive, they often have to hide their true identities or remove themselves from situations. This is when they become exiles.
‘I’ll Take the Fire’ is the third part of the In the Country of Others trilogy, but you don’t have to have read the previous works to read this novel. I think this work stands on its own There’s a brief dramatis personae before the novel so that readers can familiarise themselves with characters they have forgotten or need to learn about. However, I think new readers can follow along with the plot without it, because Slimani is such a skilled writer.
This is another winner from Leïla Slimani. She’s an incredibly observant and empathic writer who speaks to the lived experience of Moroccan women looking for self-expression and joy at a time when the world could be openly hostile to them. Through especially the character of Mia, we see the pain and joy of these women. ‘I’ll Take the Fire’ is a beautiful meditation on reclaiming the past as a way of ensuring the future.
‘I’ll Take the Fire’ is the third part of the In the Country of Others trilogy, but you don’t have to have read the previous works to read this novel. I think this work stands on its own There’s a brief dramatis personae before the novel so that readers can familiarise themselves with characters they have forgotten or need to learn about. However, I think new readers can follow along with the plot without it, because Slimani is such a skilled writer.
This is another winner from Leïla Slimani. She’s an incredibly observant and empathic writer who speaks to the lived experience of Moroccan women looking for self-expression and joy at a time when the world could be openly hostile to them. Through especially the character of Mia, we see the pain and joy of these women. ‘I’ll Take the Fire’ is a beautiful meditation on reclaiming the past as a way of ensuring the future.
Displaying 1 of 1 review