About the Author

Mohamed Mbougar Sarr was born in Dakar, Senegal, in 1990. He studied literature and philosophy at L' cole des hautes etudes en sciences sociales in Paris. Brotherhood, his first novel, won the Grand Prix du Roman Metis, the Prix Ahmadou-Kourouma, and the French Voices Grand Prize. The president of Senegal named him a Chevalier of the National Order of Merit. In 2021, he won the Prix Goncourt for The Most Secret Memory of Men, becoming the first author from sub-Saharan Africa to win the award and one of the youngest at only thirty-one years old.

Reviews

Captivating, precise, sensual prose. A book that will stir your emotions and make you think. A love letter to literature, this novel is already a classic and it will haunt you.
*Leïla Slimani, bestselling author of LULLABY*

More than an engrossing investigation into the mysterious author of a cursed book, Sarr's magnificent novel also offers a profound reflection on the resonance of literature in our lives.
*David Diop, International Booker Prize–winning author of AT NIGHT ALL BLOOD IS BLACK*

A powerful book, crossed by an epic breath that celebrates the power of literature.
*Alain Mabanckou, author of BLACK MOSES*

Thanks to translator Lara Vergnaud, English-language readers can seamlessly experience Mohamed Mbougar Sarr's pyrotechnic prose. A labyrinth of a novel, The Most Secret Memory of Men is as enthralling as it is thought-provoking. Sarr is a writer that comes along once in a lifetime.
*Eric Nguyen, author of THINGS WE LOST TO THE WATER*

This marvellous novel is part gripping literary mystery and part disquisition on being a black author in a predominantly white culture… the reader is drawn into a skilfully drawn reconstruction of French literary history in which ideas of authenticity, power, race and fame are wittily deconstructed. Terrific
*Daily Mail*