Three Strong Women

Three women who almost had it all...

Norah thinks she has made it when she qualifies as a lawyer in Paris; Fanta works her way into a prestigious teaching job in her home city; Khady runs a cafe with her loving husband - now all she wants is a child.

But family ties, broken or reasserted, will force each woman to face a journey from France to Africa or from Africa to France that will take the future out of their hands and change their lives forever.

Domineering fathers, weak lovers, the perilous road of the refugee - they will need all their courage and inner strength if they are to overcome.

From Man Booker International Prize finalist, Marie NDiaye.

Winner of Internationaler Literaturpreis - Haus der Kulturen der Welt 2010
Winner of Prix Goncourt 2009

“'The prose compels with its astonishing range and precision' Maya Jaggi, Guardian.”

Guardian
'NDiaye was the first black woman to win the Prix Goncourt in 2009: the French equivalent of the Man Booker. I can see why. The novel has a passion, daring and individuality that makes it stand out' Bernadine Evaristo, Independent. Independent
'The youngest finalist for the Man Booker International prize, French-born NDiaye recalls Henry James's prose style with her fondness for long, careful and psychologically complex sentences' Sunday Herald. Sunday Herald
'Extraordinarily powerful' Kate Saunders, The Times. The Times

Marie NDiaye was born in France in 1967. She published her first novel at seventeen, and has won the Prix Femina (Rosie Carpe in 2001) and the Prix Goncourt (Three Strong Women, 2009). Her play "Papa Doit Manger" has been taken into the repertoire of the Comedie Fran aise. Her novel Ladivine (translated by Jordan Stump) was longlisted for the Booker International Prize in 2016, and in 2020 she was awarded the Prix Marguerite Yourcenar for her entire body of work. She lives in Paris.

Three women who almost had it all... Norah thinks she has made it when she qualifies as a lawyer in Paris; Fanta works her way into a prestigious teaching job in her home city; Khady runs a cafe with her loving husband - now all she wants is a child. But family ties, broken or reasserted, will force each woman to face a journey from France to Africa or from Africa to France that will take the future out of their hands and change their lives forever. Domineering fathers, weak lovers, the perilous road of the refugee - they will need all their courage and inner strength if they are to overcome. From Man Booker International Prize finalist, Marie NDiaye.

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