So they awarded Algerian The German Mujahid (UK Title: An Unfinished Business)-author Boualem Sansal the 'Prix du roman arabe' -- a French 'best Arab novel'-prize -- this year for his Rue Darwin (see also the Gallimard publicity page).
Good for him, and them -- except that when it came to actually handing over the prize the 'conseil des ambassadeurs arabes en France' -- the council of Arabic ambassadors in France, who run this thing -- decided they didn't want to, cancelling his invitation; see, for example, the report in L'Express, Boualem Sansal, indésirable prix du roman arabe.
For god's sake .....
Good for Olivier Poivre d'Arvor, director of France Culture, who resigned from the proceedings and explains Pourquoi je démissionne du Prix du roman arabe in Libération.
The fuss is, of course, all about Sansal having recently participated in the International Writers Festival held in -- oh, no ! Israel ! (see my previous mention).
(No one should have any patience for this kind of posturing -- and the 'prix du roman arabe' might as well close shop today: no way it can be taken very seriously in the future. (Too bad: it was a good idea -- and with previous winning authors who include Elias Khoury and Gamal al-Ghitani had gotten off to a good start, before falling so flat on its face this year (not in the book they awarded the prize to, but in how they handled it).))
Good for him, and them -- except that when it came to actually handing over the prize the 'conseil des ambassadeurs arabes en France' -- the council of Arabic ambassadors in France, who run this thing -- decided they didn't want to, cancelling his invitation; see, for example, the report in L'Express, Boualem Sansal, indésirable prix du roman arabe.
For god's sake .....
Good for Olivier Poivre d'Arvor, director of France Culture, who resigned from the proceedings and explains Pourquoi je démissionne du Prix du roman arabe in Libération.
The fuss is, of course, all about Sansal having recently participated in the International Writers Festival held in -- oh, no ! Israel ! (see my previous mention).
(No one should have any patience for this kind of posturing -- and the 'prix du roman arabe' might as well close shop today: no way it can be taken very seriously in the future. (Too bad: it was a good idea -- and with previous winning authors who include Elias Khoury and Gamal al-Ghitani had gotten off to a good start, before falling so flat on its face this year (not in the book they awarded the prize to, but in how they handled it).))