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Men Don't Cry
Men Don’t Cry invites us into the home of Mourad Chennoun in Nice, where his father spends his days fixing things in the backyard, his mother bemoans the loss of her natal village in Algeria, and the name Dounia is taboo.
When his father has a stroke, Mourad is forced to rise above his fear of becoming an overweight bachelor, tied down to home by his mother's cooking, and take steps to bridge the gulf between his family and estranged sister Dounia.
This quest takes him to the Paris suburbs where he starts his teaching career, falls into the world of undocumented Algerian toyboys and discovers that Dounia has become a staunch feminist, aspiring politician and fierce assimilationist. Can Mourad adapt to his new, fast-paced Parisian life and uphold his family's values?
A poignant coming-of-age story from the widely-acclaimed author of Just Like Tomorrow.
When his father has a stroke, Mourad is forced to rise above his fear of becoming an overweight bachelor, tied down to home by his mother's cooking, and take steps to bridge the gulf between his family and estranged sister Dounia.
This quest takes him to the Paris suburbs where he starts his teaching career, falls into the world of undocumented Algerian toyboys and discovers that Dounia has become a staunch feminist, aspiring politician and fierce assimilationist. Can Mourad adapt to his new, fast-paced Parisian life and uphold his family's values?
A poignant coming-of-age story from the widely-acclaimed author of Just Like Tomorrow.
207 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2014
30 people are currently reading
834 people want to read
About the author
Faïza Guène
16 books195 followersFaïza Guène is a French writer and director. Born to parents of Algerian origin, she grew up in Pantin, in the north-eastern suburbs of Paris. She attended Collège Jean Jaurès followed by Lycée Marcelin Berthelot in Pantin. She began studies in sociology at Université Paris VIII, in St-Denis, before abandoning them to pursue writing and directing full-time.
Her first novel, "Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow" was published in 2004 when Guène was nineteen years old. The novel has sold over 200,000 copies and been translated into twenty-two different languages, and paved the way for her following work, "Some Dream for Fools" (2006) and "Les gens du Balto" (2008).
Guène has also written for "Respect" magazine since 2005 and directed several short films, including "Rien que des mots" (2004).
Her first novel, "Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow" was published in 2004 when Guène was nineteen years old. The novel has sold over 200,000 copies and been translated into twenty-two different languages, and paved the way for her following work, "Some Dream for Fools" (2006) and "Les gens du Balto" (2008).
Guène has also written for "Respect" magazine since 2005 and directed several short films, including "Rien que des mots" (2004).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews
December 6, 2022
This was a thoroughly entertaining and pretty darn fantastic read! Faïza Guène delivers a conversation-driven narrative that confronts a number of heavy and potentially uncomfortable topics with pizzazz and humor.
"Men Don't Cry" is a story of culture shocks, twisted fates, tragedies, and pursuits of happiness and purpose sometimes at odds with each other. It's the story of integration focused around an Algerian family in France, and the price they pay to become French and remain Algerian. How they fail and succeed. And, ultimately, it's a portrayal of what really matters - whether they realize it or not.
The only major issue that holds this book back, in my mind, is the oftentimes too passive protagonist. Instead of giving us someone to live the story through, he primarily serves as a keyhole through which we see the book's "real" events.
Still, a good and fun read that manages to communicate a number of important messages without beating the reader over the head with them. Highly recommended!
"Men Don't Cry" is a story of culture shocks, twisted fates, tragedies, and pursuits of happiness and purpose sometimes at odds with each other. It's the story of integration focused around an Algerian family in France, and the price they pay to become French and remain Algerian. How they fail and succeed. And, ultimately, it's a portrayal of what really matters - whether they realize it or not.
The only major issue that holds this book back, in my mind, is the oftentimes too passive protagonist. Instead of giving us someone to live the story through, he primarily serves as a keyhole through which we see the book's "real" events.
Still, a good and fun read that manages to communicate a number of important messages without beating the reader over the head with them. Highly recommended!
July 15, 2018
This book made me laugh while touching on subjects not that funny such as the difficulties of integration, immigration, and the sometimes painful communication within families and across generations.
The writing is beautiful in its simplicity with a big dose of humor that avoids any pathos. I found the characters very believable, except for Dounia who seemed a little too caricatural.
I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to discover more from this author!
The writing is beautiful in its simplicity with a big dose of humor that avoids any pathos. I found the characters very believable, except for Dounia who seemed a little too caricatural.
I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to discover more from this author!
September 7, 2023
How many of us grow up promising ourselves that no matter what happens in life we should never be the people our mothers were, or our fathers? To begin on the back foot, is what I've always called it, to be driven by the conviction to not be what they were to you.
It's a terrible place to start your own life, I should know. You have no map, no benchmark, and most often than not have never experienced the alternative you're so hell-bent on living, so you have no idea what it should look like or feel, all you know is what you don't want .
"Nobody ever starts again from zero. Not even the Arabs who invented it." These are the closing lines of Faïza Guène's Men Don't Cry. The saying is attributed to Big Baba, the head of an immigrant family from Algeria living in the seaport city of Nice, Southeast of France.
The words, which sum up the entire book, take me back to my reading of Chinweizu's The Anatomy of Female Power a couple of years ago, which first opened my eyes to how women condition their children's responses to the world. Essentially a man marries a woman who emulates his mother, they used to say.
The architect of lives here is Maman. Wife to Big Baba, mother to Dounia, Mina, and Mourad. The woman is overbrearing, prone to guilt-tripping stunts that involve feigning pulpitations and complaints of ungratefulness, and yet her love language is preparing elaborate meals and giving gifts to her kin.
We read their lives as narrated using Mourad's humourous, yet reserved voice, which grows with him beginning the year Dounia walks out of their lives. She turns her back on family, tradition, familiarity, and lineage, in search of a fresh start, her zero.
Yet we come to realise, that even if a decade goes by, we are never able to escape the conditions of our upbringing, worse if we try. We are doomed if we don't get to their core and learn to live with them in a healthy fashion that allows actual progression, without the double-consciousness.
Men Don't Cry speaks to how we are taught to deny ourselves as children, and how we ourselves perpetuate this throughout our lives, even when the plan is not to. It does this from the viewpoint of a number of characters living in the "new world" while their roots remain in the "motherland".
I'm particularly interested in a character named Mehdi Mazouani, a popular student at the school Mourad's is a teacher - not in the positive sense though. He's the biggest and oldest in his class, doesn't want to be there, and spends his time being a menace. It is only when we are introduced to his father, an immigrant factory worker, that we realise how he comes to be who he is. The interest that his French teacher has in him is evident of how lives can change when faced with alternatives to what they know.
Mourad moves in with his cousin Miloud, who has taken up with an his older, haute bourgeoisie girlfriend, Liliane, and they have a butler named Mario and remains the one I'm most curious about. Mario is from Italy and is as stoic as they come. Always on duty, standing around the house like a statue, he is meticulous at his role, attentive to the needs of everyone in the house, yet barely speaks and no one knows anything about him. Mario breaks my heart a little, makes me think back to the two buttlers at Buckingham Palace and Kew in the Netflix series Queen Charlotte, and how in the end the one is no where to be found in the narrative, scrapped off the surface of the earth after dedicating his life to the King, and never missed.
"It’s the contradiction I find shocking… I mean, to be fully French, you have to deny part of your heritage, part of your identity, part of your history, part of your beliefs, and yet even when you succeed in achieving all of that, you’re still endlessly reminded of your origins…. So what’s the point?"
I'm not going to do this book justice by trying to get into the many themes it deals with and the interesting ways in which they are brought to our attention. I'll ruin it for everyone. What I will write is that I'm extremely grateful to Cassava Republic Press for putting such a poignant piece of literature to print, and more so for getting it translated for the benefit of the English reader. It is witty, and funny, and worth every page turned, because it makes you think so deeply about your own origins.
It's a terrible place to start your own life, I should know. You have no map, no benchmark, and most often than not have never experienced the alternative you're so hell-bent on living, so you have no idea what it should look like or feel, all you know is what you don't want .
"Nobody ever starts again from zero. Not even the Arabs who invented it." These are the closing lines of Faïza Guène's Men Don't Cry. The saying is attributed to Big Baba, the head of an immigrant family from Algeria living in the seaport city of Nice, Southeast of France.
The words, which sum up the entire book, take me back to my reading of Chinweizu's The Anatomy of Female Power a couple of years ago, which first opened my eyes to how women condition their children's responses to the world. Essentially a man marries a woman who emulates his mother, they used to say.
The architect of lives here is Maman. Wife to Big Baba, mother to Dounia, Mina, and Mourad. The woman is overbrearing, prone to guilt-tripping stunts that involve feigning pulpitations and complaints of ungratefulness, and yet her love language is preparing elaborate meals and giving gifts to her kin.
We read their lives as narrated using Mourad's humourous, yet reserved voice, which grows with him beginning the year Dounia walks out of their lives. She turns her back on family, tradition, familiarity, and lineage, in search of a fresh start, her zero.
Yet we come to realise, that even if a decade goes by, we are never able to escape the conditions of our upbringing, worse if we try. We are doomed if we don't get to their core and learn to live with them in a healthy fashion that allows actual progression, without the double-consciousness.
Men Don't Cry speaks to how we are taught to deny ourselves as children, and how we ourselves perpetuate this throughout our lives, even when the plan is not to. It does this from the viewpoint of a number of characters living in the "new world" while their roots remain in the "motherland".
I'm particularly interested in a character named Mehdi Mazouani, a popular student at the school Mourad's is a teacher - not in the positive sense though. He's the biggest and oldest in his class, doesn't want to be there, and spends his time being a menace. It is only when we are introduced to his father, an immigrant factory worker, that we realise how he comes to be who he is. The interest that his French teacher has in him is evident of how lives can change when faced with alternatives to what they know.
Mourad moves in with his cousin Miloud, who has taken up with an his older, haute bourgeoisie girlfriend, Liliane, and they have a butler named Mario and remains the one I'm most curious about. Mario is from Italy and is as stoic as they come. Always on duty, standing around the house like a statue, he is meticulous at his role, attentive to the needs of everyone in the house, yet barely speaks and no one knows anything about him. Mario breaks my heart a little, makes me think back to the two buttlers at Buckingham Palace and Kew in the Netflix series Queen Charlotte, and how in the end the one is no where to be found in the narrative, scrapped off the surface of the earth after dedicating his life to the King, and never missed.
"It’s the contradiction I find shocking… I mean, to be fully French, you have to deny part of your heritage, part of your identity, part of your history, part of your beliefs, and yet even when you succeed in achieving all of that, you’re still endlessly reminded of your origins…. So what’s the point?"
I'm not going to do this book justice by trying to get into the many themes it deals with and the interesting ways in which they are brought to our attention. I'll ruin it for everyone. What I will write is that I'm extremely grateful to Cassava Republic Press for putting such a poignant piece of literature to print, and more so for getting it translated for the benefit of the English reader. It is witty, and funny, and worth every page turned, because it makes you think so deeply about your own origins.
July 11, 2014
Un petit bijou d'écriture. A la fois incroyablement drôle, assez serieux dans son propos et terriblement juste dans la peinture hyper précise et réaliste de cette famille, qui, aussi lointaine qu'elle soit de la notre, nous parait vite très familière, et de la société française. Un vrai plaisir à lire.
June 24, 2022
Ahh this was so good! Loved the witty commentary and observations.
4.5🌟
4.5🌟
September 30, 2021
A contemporary French novel with dialogue in it! Lots of dialogue!! This is so rare it had to go on my reading list.
It didn't surprise me to learn that Faïza Guène, whose fourth novel this is, is a scriptwriter as well. The whole novel happens in short, vivid scenes, with snappy dialogue, lots of slang, and a considerable excess of exclamation marks (sometimes even multiple ones, which is a no-no outside social media in my book). But it makes the whole thing a lively and entertaining read.
The subject is very topical too, as it's about a family from Algeria, living in Nice, and the generational conflict between parents and children. I would guess that Guène has used a lot of personal experience with her family and friends to create some of the conflicts and slyly funny scenes. She may have gone too far in the direction of caricature with some characters -- for example Mourad's mother is the archetype of the loving, smothering mother.
Oddly enough, Mourad, who narrates the story, is a shadowy character, largely passive in the way his life develops. You don't learn much about what makes him tick, why he is so restrained and unwilling to stand out. The novel is mostly about the female characters: his mum, and above all rebellious sister Dounia. Younger sister Mina serves as an exemplar of obedience by marrying a man selected by her parents, having children, and staying close to her parents. Meanwhile Dounia moves to Paris and right-wing political circles. There's not much of a plot and nothing is really resolved at the end, which strikes a more sentimental note than the rest of the novel.
In the end the novel doesn't say anything particularly original, and I certainly wouldn't say it was a masterpiece, but it's an entertaining read. Guène is clearly enjoying herself and shoehorns in some irrelevant material just because she thinks it's funny: for example a digression about French police procedural films and how they compare to American ones. Mourad's unconventional household setup when he moves to the Paris suburbs to teach is ridiculously exaggerated and devised purely for its entertainment value.
I managed to persuade my French book group to pick this for our next meeting -- I'll be very interested to see what they make of it as it's so different from the usual more literary choices. I think some of them will probably hate it ...
It didn't surprise me to learn that Faïza Guène, whose fourth novel this is, is a scriptwriter as well. The whole novel happens in short, vivid scenes, with snappy dialogue, lots of slang, and a considerable excess of exclamation marks (sometimes even multiple ones, which is a no-no outside social media in my book). But it makes the whole thing a lively and entertaining read.
The subject is very topical too, as it's about a family from Algeria, living in Nice, and the generational conflict between parents and children. I would guess that Guène has used a lot of personal experience with her family and friends to create some of the conflicts and slyly funny scenes. She may have gone too far in the direction of caricature with some characters -- for example Mourad's mother is the archetype of the loving, smothering mother.
Oddly enough, Mourad, who narrates the story, is a shadowy character, largely passive in the way his life develops. You don't learn much about what makes him tick, why he is so restrained and unwilling to stand out. The novel is mostly about the female characters: his mum, and above all rebellious sister Dounia. Younger sister Mina serves as an exemplar of obedience by marrying a man selected by her parents, having children, and staying close to her parents. Meanwhile Dounia moves to Paris and right-wing political circles. There's not much of a plot and nothing is really resolved at the end, which strikes a more sentimental note than the rest of the novel.
In the end the novel doesn't say anything particularly original, and I certainly wouldn't say it was a masterpiece, but it's an entertaining read. Guène is clearly enjoying herself and shoehorns in some irrelevant material just because she thinks it's funny: for example a digression about French police procedural films and how they compare to American ones. Mourad's unconventional household setup when he moves to the Paris suburbs to teach is ridiculously exaggerated and devised purely for its entertainment value.
I managed to persuade my French book group to pick this for our next meeting -- I'll be very interested to see what they make of it as it's so different from the usual more literary choices. I think some of them will probably hate it ...
February 16, 2022
To be fully French, you've to deny part of your heritage, part of your identity, part of your history, part of your beliefs and yet even when you succeed in achieving all of that, you're still endlessly reminded of your origins so what's the point?
An Algerian family of five; three kids and their immigrant parents live in the city of Nice in France and deal with integration as their Algerian culture clash with the secularism in France. Dounia, the first will leave home in a bid to free herself from tradition that, she believes, holds her in shackles, while Mina will follow her parents wishes to fill in the gap that Dounia left. Mourad, the only son narrates the story and expresses in the chapters what it means to not be fully French regardless of being born in the country (because of identity crisis). We follow him as he leaves for Paris to teach and the story unrolls itself. // Words elude me as I type because I got little from what I yearned for. It was the typical immigrant family story, the usual effect it may or mayn't have on the kids who choose to break or unbreak tradition/their heritage, with themes like patriachy, feminism, secularism, and misogyny. It didn't hit hard for me.
An Algerian family of five; three kids and their immigrant parents live in the city of Nice in France and deal with integration as their Algerian culture clash with the secularism in France. Dounia, the first will leave home in a bid to free herself from tradition that, she believes, holds her in shackles, while Mina will follow her parents wishes to fill in the gap that Dounia left. Mourad, the only son narrates the story and expresses in the chapters what it means to not be fully French regardless of being born in the country (because of identity crisis). We follow him as he leaves for Paris to teach and the story unrolls itself. // Words elude me as I type because I got little from what I yearned for. It was the typical immigrant family story, the usual effect it may or mayn't have on the kids who choose to break or unbreak tradition/their heritage, with themes like patriachy, feminism, secularism, and misogyny. It didn't hit hard for me.
February 4, 2018
En algerisk familj i Frankrike - en dotter som bryter med familjen och lever på det sätt som hon vill och inte på det sätt som hennes kvävande mamma vill. Mourad, yngsta syskonet, berättar historien och är en blygsam person som vill vara alla till lags, men som kanske är den som kan kommunicera med alla på ett milt och läkande sätt. En lågmäld vardagsberättelse kan man säga, den leder inte fram till något särskilt, men ändå innehåller mycket. Tänker att förlåtelse ändå är en kärnfråga, men det är svårt med en så excentrisk mamma, men pappan som annars verkade så stolt har mjuknat med åren.
June 23, 2022
3.5 stars
I have a lot to say about Mourad but I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I wanted to.
It is still a very witty and funny book that packs a lot of social commentary in satire form — and it was also nice seeing the depressed 20-something theme that has a first-gen immigrant Arab male main character
I have a lot to say about Mourad but I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I wanted to.
It is still a very witty and funny book that packs a lot of social commentary in satire form — and it was also nice seeing the depressed 20-something theme that has a first-gen immigrant Arab male main character
Read
January 14, 2022There’s something translated books, a distinctive writing style that belongs just to this class of books, that makes it fun to read. The blurb for this book basically gives everything away and in the end I found the story to be very dull and I think it’s this way by design.
It’s always entertaining reading family dynamics and this story didn’t fail when it come to showcasing how Mourad, our protagonist, the narrator of the story was brought up and how his upbringing affected his character and sense of self.
Mourad is the last born and as a person he’s quite dull. He is overcoddled by his overbearing and manipulative mother, very timid, doesn’t speak up for himself and subscribes to patriarchal shit that in turn makes him misgoynistic without him being aware of that fact. You would think away from his family in Paris, staying with his free-spirited cousin Miloud, he would embrace himself and find out other things about himself, but instead he remains hesistant and it becomes clear that Mourad is afraid to truly live.
Mina the middle child is the archetype of a parent pleaser, to the point it seems she doesn’t have a mind of her own and just does whatever she is told, a true sheep, whose hatred for her elder sister, I believe is more jealousy as Dounia was brave enough to live her life according to her own terms, whereas Mina followed the path her mother laid out for her.
Dounia the eldest, is the black-sheep in the family and the most interesting person in Men Don’t Cry, because she managed to crave her own path. The story clearly depicted that her family never truly understood Dounia or tried to be there for her, yet she was the only one at fault in the book.
However, the plot kinda lost it, because for someone who was a radical feminist, identified as a muslim and an Algerian immigrant, Dounia’s political alignment were off because it contradicted everything she stood for, so it didn’t make sense. It felt like something that was put to justify Mourad’s hate and misogynistic ways of thinking.
I loved that this story shined light a bit on immigrants who shuffled between their lifes in the country they had made their home and in the country they’re born. I enjoyed reading the dialogue between various characters, it gave more life to the story. It allowed the expression of various point of views and gives a certain feel that captures the envrions of the story.
In the end, I don’t think there was anything different, everything remained the same, a steretypical story, where Mourad never evolved, making it simply an account of the life of an average man, who is witty in thoughts but not in the way he lived his life, nothing spectacular or worthy of note.
Even though, I never felt like DNF-ing this book, I don’t know if I can say I liked it, there’s just something off putting about it, I can’t place.
It’s always entertaining reading family dynamics and this story didn’t fail when it come to showcasing how Mourad, our protagonist, the narrator of the story was brought up and how his upbringing affected his character and sense of self.
Mourad is the last born and as a person he’s quite dull. He is overcoddled by his overbearing and manipulative mother, very timid, doesn’t speak up for himself and subscribes to patriarchal shit that in turn makes him misgoynistic without him being aware of that fact. You would think away from his family in Paris, staying with his free-spirited cousin Miloud, he would embrace himself and find out other things about himself, but instead he remains hesistant and it becomes clear that Mourad is afraid to truly live.
Mina the middle child is the archetype of a parent pleaser, to the point it seems she doesn’t have a mind of her own and just does whatever she is told, a true sheep, whose hatred for her elder sister, I believe is more jealousy as Dounia was brave enough to live her life according to her own terms, whereas Mina followed the path her mother laid out for her.
Dounia the eldest, is the black-sheep in the family and the most interesting person in Men Don’t Cry, because she managed to crave her own path. The story clearly depicted that her family never truly understood Dounia or tried to be there for her, yet she was the only one at fault in the book.
However, the plot kinda lost it, because for someone who was a radical feminist, identified as a muslim and an Algerian immigrant, Dounia’s political alignment were off because it contradicted everything she stood for, so it didn’t make sense. It felt like something that was put to justify Mourad’s hate and misogynistic ways of thinking.
I loved that this story shined light a bit on immigrants who shuffled between their lifes in the country they had made their home and in the country they’re born. I enjoyed reading the dialogue between various characters, it gave more life to the story. It allowed the expression of various point of views and gives a certain feel that captures the envrions of the story.
In the end, I don’t think there was anything different, everything remained the same, a steretypical story, where Mourad never evolved, making it simply an account of the life of an average man, who is witty in thoughts but not in the way he lived his life, nothing spectacular or worthy of note.
Even though, I never felt like DNF-ing this book, I don’t know if I can say I liked it, there’s just something off putting about it, I can’t place.
June 23, 2022
Quite a lot of this book seemed to be an agenda to gaslight the dissident sister Dounia. That and the "men don't cry" refrain I found very problematic. The men not crying was deconstructed but Dounia was shown as increasingly crazy and erratic, without any empathy for why she is so traumatised.
The reflections on teaching were mostly good (I am also a teacher and I was surprised how much I related to) and the stuff about Babar the elephant was a good point. I had felt kind of uneasy about Babar when my kids were growing up but the very simple analysis the characters in this book make was useful to me.
At the end of the day there seemed to be an attitude that even abusive parents are OK so long as they feel some love (it was hard to label their treatment of Dounia as "love" at any point though). I couldn't like that but at any rate this book was not predictable and I was not bored. I think it's worth broadening your horizons and also supporting smaller publishers like this,
The reflections on teaching were mostly good (I am also a teacher and I was surprised how much I related to) and the stuff about Babar the elephant was a good point. I had felt kind of uneasy about Babar when my kids were growing up but the very simple analysis the characters in this book make was useful to me.
At the end of the day there seemed to be an attitude that even abusive parents are OK so long as they feel some love (it was hard to label their treatment of Dounia as "love" at any point though). I couldn't like that but at any rate this book was not predictable and I was not bored. I think it's worth broadening your horizons and also supporting smaller publishers like this,
November 1, 2021
In this delightful and heart warming story, Faiza Guene takes a look at the immigrant experience through the eyes of Mourad and his family. The title itself is telling of the tone of the book - Men Don't Cry, they're supposed to be strong and face it all. However, we have Mourad - a homebody, an English teacher with debilitating anxiety and a loner by his own admission. Narrated mostly from his perspective, Guene takes a look at the multicultural experience of those kids who're born to immigrant parents and forever straddle two worlds, not quite belonging to either.
At a little over 200 pages, this was a breezy read, however it made me pause and draw parallels with my own experiences. Most importantly though, it made me wonder what hidden gems we might uncover within the world of translated literature? :)
At a little over 200 pages, this was a breezy read, however it made me pause and draw parallels with my own experiences. Most importantly though, it made me wonder what hidden gems we might uncover within the world of translated literature? :)
November 6, 2021
Novel set in NICE and PARIS
This is a beautifully produced novel, from the cover that absolutely captures the feel of the book, to the French flaps that always lend a notion of quality.
We explore the home life of Mourad Chennoun, whose family – originally from Algeria – has settled in Nice. It is a story of co-existence, cultural traditions and the nature of immigration. The family narrative is that men don’t cry, even when tested.
Mounia, who is Mourad’s sister, has broken the mould and is exiled from the family, choosing to eschew the values held dear to her mother in particular. She follows a feminist political path that takes her to Paris, where Mourad eventually finds himself too, as he embarks on his first teaching job. His father has suffered a stroke and is hospitalised. It seems to fall to Mourad to find a way of healing the family, to negotiate the generational and cultural gap.
Mourad goes to live with a reprobate cousin and his older partner, in a life of considerable luxury and louche living (there is a butler!). He was warned that his cousin had gone off grid when it came to respecting traditions of his heritage. From there he commutes to his new school where there is further learning to be had about people and how they choose to live their lives. Mourad observes and engages with them as he gets to grips with his own raison d’être. The characters are really well drawn, with their idiosyncrasies and principles.
This is a coming-of-age story told with warmth, perception and wonderfully quiet humour. And I never knew such a thing as a rhubarb brioche existed – which, as Mourad ponders, might one day just serve to become his Proustian madeleine.
This is a beautifully produced novel, from the cover that absolutely captures the feel of the book, to the French flaps that always lend a notion of quality.
We explore the home life of Mourad Chennoun, whose family – originally from Algeria – has settled in Nice. It is a story of co-existence, cultural traditions and the nature of immigration. The family narrative is that men don’t cry, even when tested.
Mounia, who is Mourad’s sister, has broken the mould and is exiled from the family, choosing to eschew the values held dear to her mother in particular. She follows a feminist political path that takes her to Paris, where Mourad eventually finds himself too, as he embarks on his first teaching job. His father has suffered a stroke and is hospitalised. It seems to fall to Mourad to find a way of healing the family, to negotiate the generational and cultural gap.
Mourad goes to live with a reprobate cousin and his older partner, in a life of considerable luxury and louche living (there is a butler!). He was warned that his cousin had gone off grid when it came to respecting traditions of his heritage. From there he commutes to his new school where there is further learning to be had about people and how they choose to live their lives. Mourad observes and engages with them as he gets to grips with his own raison d’être. The characters are really well drawn, with their idiosyncrasies and principles.
This is a coming-of-age story told with warmth, perception and wonderfully quiet humour. And I never knew such a thing as a rhubarb brioche existed – which, as Mourad ponders, might one day just serve to become his Proustian madeleine.
December 3, 2021
Entre Nice, Paris et l'Algérie, on suit à travers les yeux de Mourad l'histoire de sa famille (ses parents et ses 2 soeurs) et des différents chemin que peuvent prendre chacun.e.
Mourad, professeur de français dans un collège de ZEP en devenir, craint de finir sa vie écrasé par l'amour de sa mère et son héritage familial.
J'ai eu du mal à m'attacher au personnage principal que j'ai trouvé mou, pétri de clichés (qu'il combat par ailleurs quand ce sont d'autres personnes qui les expriment devant lui, bon point) et de sexisme, et avec un humour assez moyen. J'imagine qu'il doit incarner un personnage (ou un stéréotype?) mais en 2021 je n'ai plus envie de lire des bouts de phrases sexistes dans une fiction écrite par une femme, j'aime que la lecture reste mon havre de paix merci 🥲
Les problématiques restent bien amenées (l'exil, la famille, le déni de ses origines, le tiraillement qu'il peut exister entre 2 cultures au sein d'un.e meme individu.e.
La fin m'a laissée un peu sur ma faim (histoire de faire des jeux de mots aussi petits que Mourad)
Néanmoins j'aime toujours autant Faïza Guene, j'avais du mal à me décrocher du livre et je la remercie de "nous" écrire, mais ses thèmes d'écriture finissent par être toujours les mêmes. Lire ce livre après La Discrétion pour la découvrir c'était peut être pas forcément une très bonne idée..
Mourad, professeur de français dans un collège de ZEP en devenir, craint de finir sa vie écrasé par l'amour de sa mère et son héritage familial.
J'ai eu du mal à m'attacher au personnage principal que j'ai trouvé mou, pétri de clichés (qu'il combat par ailleurs quand ce sont d'autres personnes qui les expriment devant lui, bon point) et de sexisme, et avec un humour assez moyen. J'imagine qu'il doit incarner un personnage (ou un stéréotype?) mais en 2021 je n'ai plus envie de lire des bouts de phrases sexistes dans une fiction écrite par une femme, j'aime que la lecture reste mon havre de paix merci 🥲
Les problématiques restent bien amenées (l'exil, la famille, le déni de ses origines, le tiraillement qu'il peut exister entre 2 cultures au sein d'un.e meme individu.e.
La fin m'a laissée un peu sur ma faim (histoire de faire des jeux de mots aussi petits que Mourad)
Néanmoins j'aime toujours autant Faïza Guene, j'avais du mal à me décrocher du livre et je la remercie de "nous" écrire, mais ses thèmes d'écriture finissent par être toujours les mêmes. Lire ce livre après La Discrétion pour la découvrir c'était peut être pas forcément une très bonne idée..
November 6, 2022
J'ai lu ce livre en quelques heures, d'une traite.
Je ne connaissais de Faiza Guene que "kiffe kiffe demain", que j'avais lu suite à son passage dans le podcast "A bientôt de te revoir".
Il y a quelques semaine, toujours en podcast, j'ai écouté une des ancienne émission de "La grande librairie". Cela a piqué ma curiosité, j'ai eu envie de lire ce qu'elle avait écrit en tant qu'adulte, alors j'ai emprunté deux de ses romans à la médiathèque.
Celui-ci est très chouette. Léger et drôle tout en traitant des questions de société qui ne le sont pas
J'ai beaucoup aimé, et il me tarde de me plonger dans le deuxième roman que j'ai emprunté !
Je ne connaissais de Faiza Guene que "kiffe kiffe demain", que j'avais lu suite à son passage dans le podcast "A bientôt de te revoir".
Il y a quelques semaine, toujours en podcast, j'ai écouté une des ancienne émission de "La grande librairie". Cela a piqué ma curiosité, j'ai eu envie de lire ce qu'elle avait écrit en tant qu'adulte, alors j'ai emprunté deux de ses romans à la médiathèque.
Celui-ci est très chouette. Léger et drôle tout en traitant des questions de société qui ne le sont pas
J'ai beaucoup aimé, et il me tarde de me plonger dans le deuxième roman que j'ai emprunté !
June 22, 2022
I like the book, but I found the ending underwhelming. I felt like there was still so much to explore like dounia's relationship with mina and also their mother, I felt like it wasn't explored enough I still had so many questions. I liked the humor sha and Mourad's mother is my new standard for dramatic, if you haven't done as much as she has, then you're not dramatic.
September 21, 2022
I loved the story line and the imagery. I loved that the Arab - French life has been explored with issues raised and no solutions proferred. I love the love that Big Baba had for his family and how his wife Djamila was the very antithesis of what Dounia seems to think an Arab Muslim immigrant woman is.
November 17, 2024
Mignon mais un peu blasant ce livre selon la mymy de 2020.
« Manger un steak tartare, voilà de l’intégration ou je m’y connais pas. Parce qu’apprendre la langue, respecter les institutions de l’Etat, épouser la culture du pays en chérissant ses auteurs, marcher pour la gloire de la nation, tout ça n’est rien comparé à l’engloutissement de la viande hachée crue qu’on écrabouille avec un jaune d’œuf et des conditiments. »
« Manger un steak tartare, voilà de l’intégration ou je m’y connais pas. Parce qu’apprendre la langue, respecter les institutions de l’Etat, épouser la culture du pays en chérissant ses auteurs, marcher pour la gloire de la nation, tout ça n’est rien comparé à l’engloutissement de la viande hachée crue qu’on écrabouille avec un jaune d’œuf et des conditiments. »
June 17, 2022
Is it possible to make your path in the world while upholding your family legacy?
"Big Baba says Men Don't Cry. and it's always stuck with me."
A translated coming-of-age novel originally in French about an Algerian immigrant family of five living in Nice, France. Narrated by the youngest (Mourad) who's depicted as a loner, overly pampered by their mother that I feel it's an act of love but comes off as totally smothering/overbearing, while constantly bending to their stoic but serene father's toxic masculinity patriarchal lessons. As he gives us insight into each family member, drama/conflicts/Estrangement, expectations/rebellion/misogynistic ideas, life/experiences as immigrants, assimilation, dangling cross cultures, sudden illness, racism, French politics, feminism, and reconciliation.
I'm trying not to reveal a lot about it, but it was such an easy entertaining reading experience, with humorous conversations/characters, and vivid plot scenes.
'It's called an "adolescent crisis".
'What's that? A virus? A disease?'
'It's the kind of disease you can only catch in Europe! If you hadn't brought me here, and we had them in Algeria instead, Dounia would never have caught it!'
It was so easy to love for me, but, it would have been so much better if we got more into our narrator's life, more of his perspective and position on his family dynamics, and the majority of the pressing issues that were risen in the book. He was mainly depicted as a static protagonist.
Still, I highly recommend it if you love family dramas and coming-of-age stories
"Big Baba says Men Don't Cry. and it's always stuck with me."
A translated coming-of-age novel originally in French about an Algerian immigrant family of five living in Nice, France. Narrated by the youngest (Mourad) who's depicted as a loner, overly pampered by their mother that I feel it's an act of love but comes off as totally smothering/overbearing, while constantly bending to their stoic but serene father's toxic masculinity patriarchal lessons. As he gives us insight into each family member, drama/conflicts/Estrangement, expectations/rebellion/misogynistic ideas, life/experiences as immigrants, assimilation, dangling cross cultures, sudden illness, racism, French politics, feminism, and reconciliation.
I'm trying not to reveal a lot about it, but it was such an easy entertaining reading experience, with humorous conversations/characters, and vivid plot scenes.
'It's called an "adolescent crisis".
'What's that? A virus? A disease?'
'It's the kind of disease you can only catch in Europe! If you hadn't brought me here, and we had them in Algeria instead, Dounia would never have caught it!'
It was so easy to love for me, but, it would have been so much better if we got more into our narrator's life, more of his perspective and position on his family dynamics, and the majority of the pressing issues that were risen in the book. He was mainly depicted as a static protagonist.
Still, I highly recommend it if you love family dramas and coming-of-age stories
December 23, 2024
Ce n'est pas de la grande littérature mais on passe tout de même un bon moment.
J'ai beaucoup aimé le personnage de Mourad.
J'ai beaucoup aimé le personnage de Mourad.
January 2, 2024
Si on pleure c’est 5 étoiles direct. C’est pas de la grande littérature mais c’est efficace, drôle et émouvant. Jamais déçue de Faïza Guène
December 24, 2023
Mourad Chennoun’s famiky are French of Algerian descent, living in Nice. His story is a take of an immigrant child straddling two cultures and he tells it with tongue in the cheek humor. His two sisters are poles apart, his mother feeds everyone and his father is illiterate, but imparts practical wisdom.
April 22, 2024
Dounia m’a salement fait pensé à Rachida Dati j’ai eu du mal à finir le livre à cause de ça.
August 26, 2022
C’est un drôle de 4 étoiles que j’ai mis là: je ne pense pas que ce soit un livre mémorable ou indispensable, mais j’ai eu un plaisir énorme à le lire. Il m’a touchée, il m’a fait rire, il m’a fait penser aux nombreux parallèles entre mères arabes et mères juives (oui, même ashkénazes). Ceci dit, certaines choses me gênent: le traitement de Dounia, la misogynie larvée du narrateur, dont on ne sait si elle lui appartient seule ou fait l’écho de celle, intériorisée, de l’auteure.
J’ai tout de même bien l’intention de lire La Discrétion dans les semaines qui viennent.
J’ai tout de même bien l’intention de lire La Discrétion dans les semaines qui viennent.
November 7, 2021
Men don't cry because Mourad's father says so and Mourad doesn't know the reasoning behind it.
I really enjoyed this book. It was witty and funny with plenty of laugh out loud moments. Written from the first person perspective of Mourad Chennoun who belongs to an Algerian family living in Nice, France, the reader sees the world through his thoughts and viewpoints.
Mourad is the youngest child in the family and the only brother of elder sisters Dounia and Mina. Dounia is a rebel and refuses to conform to her family's traditions whilst growing up. She eventually ends up leaving her family for good and is disowned by her parents.
A few years later, their father, Big Baba, has a stroke and Mourad moves to Paris after getting a job as a secondary school teacher. He goes to live with his cousin Miloud (who is on an expired student visa) and Miloud's lover, Liliane. Dounia has now become an outspoken feminist and strives to become a politician. It is in Paris that both Mourad and Dounia finally reconnect and Mourad gets an insight into her life.
My favourite character was Mourad's "Maman" - his mother with her completely over the top reactions to everyone and everything.
Faiza Guene has also used this book to voice her opinions about society and xenophobia.
NetGalley provided me with this book in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this book. It was witty and funny with plenty of laugh out loud moments. Written from the first person perspective of Mourad Chennoun who belongs to an Algerian family living in Nice, France, the reader sees the world through his thoughts and viewpoints.
Mourad is the youngest child in the family and the only brother of elder sisters Dounia and Mina. Dounia is a rebel and refuses to conform to her family's traditions whilst growing up. She eventually ends up leaving her family for good and is disowned by her parents.
A few years later, their father, Big Baba, has a stroke and Mourad moves to Paris after getting a job as a secondary school teacher. He goes to live with his cousin Miloud (who is on an expired student visa) and Miloud's lover, Liliane. Dounia has now become an outspoken feminist and strives to become a politician. It is in Paris that both Mourad and Dounia finally reconnect and Mourad gets an insight into her life.
My favourite character was Mourad's "Maman" - his mother with her completely over the top reactions to everyone and everything.
Faiza Guene has also used this book to voice her opinions about society and xenophobia.
NetGalley provided me with this book in exchange for an honest review.
October 22, 2021
This is a fast paced coming of age novel about Mourad, from his turbulent adolescence with his eldest sister leaving the house, to his experiences being a schoolteacher in Paris. There were parts that were funny and insightful, but on the whole, I found the narrative voice of Mourad far too misogynist to really enjoy the book. His eldest sister, Dounia, who leaves the house is far more interesting, and I can't quite understand why the writer's so tremendously judgmental about her, or the future she chooses- would someone who's such a radical feminist join a right wing political party? Mourad never really encounters any opposition to his views, or seems to develop empathy at all. The book has a diverse cast of characters, but for a book that seems to want to subvert cliches, every character apart from Mourad are complete stereotypes- the Indians bobble their heads and clutch their idols , the blonde women only want to be reality stars. I would recommend Sabri Louatah's books instead, for a far more nuanced depiction of the diversity of life in France- better plotlines, fascinating characters.
November 25, 2021
I adore books by Faïza Guène. Every time I finish a book by her, it’s difficult to decide what to read next that will be as delightful and charming. I read Guene’s three newest books in succession, and this one stands out for its focus on a male character as well as a being full of a ton of non-sequiturs that plunge you deep in the main characters thoughts as well as French, Algerian, and French-Algerian pop culture. This is a sweet story line and you’ll definitely feel mixed emotions about a couple of the characters in the book, but you won’t regret reading it.
July 15, 2015
Très beau livre, je n'avais pas trop aimé les deux premiers livres de Faïza Guène et j'ai eu un très beau coup de coeur pour l'histoire de Mourad, dernier de trois enfants. Fils d'un père et d'une mère algeriens, se cherchant entre une soeur qui coupe tout lien avec ses origines et sa famille et une mère à l'amour étouffant. La quatrième de couverture résume bien la problématique de ce roman "est ce vraiment dans la rupture que l'on devient pleinement soi-même?"
May 18, 2019
C'est le quatrième roman de Faïza Guène que je lis et comme à chaque fois, j'ai adoré!
Un récit tendre, émouvant, plein de sensibilité et de cet humour propre à l'autrice. La narration à la première personne nous vient d'un personnage masculin, Mourad, et c'est au travers de ses yeux que nous sont décrits des personnages tous aussi puissants les uns que les autres.
Une belle histoire sur la transmission et la mémoire qui pour moi mérite amplement 5 étoiles!
Un récit tendre, émouvant, plein de sensibilité et de cet humour propre à l'autrice. La narration à la première personne nous vient d'un personnage masculin, Mourad, et c'est au travers de ses yeux que nous sont décrits des personnages tous aussi puissants les uns que les autres.
Une belle histoire sur la transmission et la mémoire qui pour moi mérite amplement 5 étoiles!
July 31, 2023
{BOOK REVIEW: MEN DON’T CRY: 1.5/5 ⭐️}
Unfortunately it took me almost 80% to even get to a point where I was starting to like the story or enjoy reading it. Nothing clicked for me and it just wasn’t memorable. I’ll place it in a Little Free Library and hope that’s it’s perfect for another reader. ••••••••
#Partner @bibliolifestyle Thank You for the #Gifted Book! I always appreciate to opportunity to feature and read books. ••••
Unfortunately it took me almost 80% to even get to a point where I was starting to like the story or enjoy reading it. Nothing clicked for me and it just wasn’t memorable. I’ll place it in a Little Free Library and hope that’s it’s perfect for another reader. ••••••••
#Partner @bibliolifestyle Thank You for the #Gifted Book! I always appreciate to opportunity to feature and read books. ••••
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