Tahar BenJelloun, writer on both sides of the Strait

Prix Goncourt in 1987 for The Sacred Night, after the success of The Sand Child in 1985, translated into over forty languages, Tahar Ben Jelloun writes in French but self-translates into Arabic.

Doctor Honoris Causa in several universities around the world, he has received numerous literary awards in France as well as in Morocco, but he is probably the only living Moroccan writer to have given his name to an asteroid located between Mars and Jupiter, the (29449) Taharbenjelloun.

He writes regular columns in many newspapers, including Le Monde and, in Morocco, 360.

Friends and enemies

The Ben Jelloun galaxy includes many writers such as Leïla Slimani, Umberto Eco, Malek Chebel, Reza, Olivier Weber, Abdelkader Djemaï, Abdellatif Laâbi and the whole team of Souffles magazine.

On the other hand, he has a strong enmity with Yasmina Khadra, whom he accuses of not writing his books himself and of using the services of

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a ghostwriter. In return, Yasmina Khadra accuses Ben Jelloun of barring him from literary institutions in France.

Which of Tahar Ben Jelloun’s books are the most important?

Four books are a must read:

  • The Sand Child
  • The Sacred Night
  • This Blinding Absence of Light
  • Racism explained to my daughter

If you like it and want to continue, I recommend:

  • On My Mother, a moving book in which he transcribes the stories of his mother, who had Alzheimer’s, tracing a life of which he knew almost nothing.
  • My Perrault Fairy Tales, where he moroccanises these traditional tales.

A career as a painter, less publicised

Tahar Ben Jelloun has been drawing and painting since his early childhood. His paintings are graphic, uncluttered, almost abstract. They are also colourful, joyful and optimistic. Like the writer, the painter is internationally renowned. Among other things, he participated in the decoration of the old prison in Lipari. Above all, he is, with the cartoons for the stained glass windows of the church of Le Thoureil, the first artist from the Muslim world to have designed the stained glass windows of a church in France.

Abdelmalek Laroui Book Prize Books to read

New literary prize in Morocco

The well-known Tahar Ben Jelloun won the Prix Goncourt and is now a member of the jury. He has also been awarded a Moroccan prize, the ‘Argana’ prize.