Description

**THE GLOBAL BESTSELLER
WINNER OF FRANCE’S MOST PRESTIGIOUS AWARD, THE PRIX GONCOURT
LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS & THE DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD**

‘A masterpiece’ The Times
‘A love letter to literature’ Leila Slimani
‘A rollicking literary mystery … Propulsive’ New Yorker

Paris, 2018. Diegane Latyr Faye, a young Senegalese writer, discovers a legendary book titled The Labyrinth of Inhumanity. It has an immediate hold over him. No one knows what happened to its author, T.C. Elimane, who was accused of plagiarism, his reputation destroyed by the critics.

Obsessed with discovering the truth about Elimane’s disappearance, Faye weaves past and present, countries and continents, to follow the author’s labyrinthine trail from Senegal to Argentina and France and to confront the great tragedies of history.

Will he get to the truth at the centre of the maze?

‘The style as well as the sweep is Bolano-esque’ Observer
‘As enthralling as it is thought-provoking’ Eric Nguyen
‘Terrific’ Daily Mail

Translated by Lara Vernaud

Publisher Review

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. 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. A masterpiece * The Times * Sarr's dizzying display of reference ... plays a witty game with French and world literature ... This effervescence is infectious and casts its charm in times nostalgic for a belief in books and the communities they create. * Times Literary Supplement * 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 Sarr's incisive critique never relents... a brilliant effort at welcoming readers into the work of an author whose career was interrupted * Guardian * A literary quest... The style as well as the sweep is Bolanoesque: surreal metaphors, multi-page dream descriptions * Observer * Ambitious and playful * Economist * Funny, sharp takes on questions of identity add grit to an inventive tribute to literature's timeless potency * Mail on Sunday *