Misplaced Pages

Brotherhood (novel)

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
2014 novel by Mohamed Mbougar Sarr
Brotherhood
AuthorMohamed Mbougar Sarr
Original titleTerre ceinte
TranslatorAlexia Trigo
LanguageFrench
SubjectPolitical
GenreLiterary fiction
Set inKepal, Sumal fictional town
PublisherPrésence Africaine
Publication date2014
Publication placeSenegal
Published in English6 October 2021
Media type
  • Print
  • Digital
Pages248 (trade paper)
Awards
ISBN978-2-7087-0881-5 (trade paper)
LC ClassPQ3989.3.M36714 T47 2014

Brotherhood (French: Terre ceinte) is a political novel written by Senegalese writer Mohamed Mbougar Sarr and translated by Alexia Trigo. It was published by Europa Editions in 2021. Originally published as Terre Ceinte in 2014 by Présence Africaine.

The novel takes place in a fictional town in Africa, where Islamic extremism has taken root.

Background

In 2014, Mohamed Mbougar Sarr's novel was published by Présence Africaine in French. It was Sarr's debut novel and second work after his critically acclaimed short story "La Cale". In 2021, it was translated by Alexia Trigo—being Trigo's debut work as a translator and Sarr's first novel to be translated into English.

Plot

The story follows an extremist Islamic organisation—called the Brotherhood, which has taken control of Kalep—and a group of decentralised intellectuals intent on challenging its extreme religious doctrine. The antagonist, Abdel Karim who is a police chief, leads the Brotherhood. In order to fight the tyrant, the intellectuals develop a political journal called Rambaaj that is aimed at reawakening the people and calling for an uprising. To fight back, Karim places a huge bounty on the underground journalists which introduces betrayal and back-biting to the organisation. In order to winnow out the journalists, Karim burns down a library that is considered a cultural property.

Characters

  • Abdel Karim — a police chief and leader of the Brotherhood
  • Malamine — leader of the resistance group

Reception

It received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. PW described it as a "vital new voice to American readers." It was listed in Brittle Paper's Notable Books of 2021.

Awards and nominations

The French version won the Grand prix du roman métis and Prix Ahmadou-Kourouma in 2015.

References

  1. Nelson, Caleb Azumah (6 July 2021). "Debut Novels by Jesse McCarthy, Gabriel Krauze and Mohamed Mbougar Sarr". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  2. ^ Pauron, Michael (1 May 2015). "Littérature : le Sénégalais Mohamed Mbougar Sarr remporte le prix Kourouma pour Terre Ceinte". Jeune Afrique (in French). Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  3. Marcus, Richard (19 July 2021). "Book Review: Brotherhood by Mohamed Mbougar Sarr". Blogcritics. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  4. ^ Figaro, Le (3 November 2021). "Goncourt 2021 : le sacre de Mohamed Mbougar Sarr et de sa Plus secrète mémoire des hommes". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  5. Tarng, Tammy (27 September 2021). "Globetrotting". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  6. ^ "Brotherhood". Publishers Weekly. 6 May 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  7. "50 Notable African Books of 2021". Brittle Paper. 2 December 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
Categories: