Les Carnets de Shérazade

by Leïla Sebbar

Pendant 7 jours et 7 nuits, entre Marseille et Paris, Shérazade voyage en compagnie de Gilles, un routier au camion bleu Gauloises. Elle lui raconte ses aventures, extraites des carnets d’un voyage initiatique aux couleurs de l’Orient.

286 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Leïla Sebbar is an Algerian author, the daughter of a French mother and an Algerian father. She spent her youth in colonial Algeria but now lives in Paris and writes in French. She writes about the relationship between France and Algeria and often juxtaposes the imagery of both countries to show the difference in cultures between the two.

Sebbar deals with a variety of topics, and either adopts a purely fictional approach or uses psychology to make her point. Many of Sebbar's novels express the frustrations of the Beur, the second generation of Maghribi youth who were born and raised in France and who have not yet integrated into French society. Her book Parle mon fils, parle à ta mère (1984; Talk son, talk to your mother), illustrates the absence of dialogue between two generations who do not speak the same language.