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As We Exist
- Author
- Kaoutar Harchi
- Narrator
- Suehyla El-Attar Young
- Publisher
- Blackstone Publishing
- Publish Date
- 7 March 2023
- Run Time
- 3 hours 16 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
In this thoughtful coming-of-age memoir, a young sociologist reflects on her Moroccan immigrant parents, their journey to France, and how growing up an outsider shaped her identity.
Imbued with tenderness for her family and a critical view of the challenges facing French North African immigrants, Kaoutar Harchi’s probing account illustrates the deeply personal effects of political issues. Mixed with happy memories of her childhood home in eastern France are ever-present reminders of the dangers from which her parents sought to shield her. When they transfer her to a private, Catholic middle school—out of fear of Arab boys from their working-class neighborhood—Kaoutar grows increasingly conscious of her differences, and her conflicted sense of self.
Notable events in her teens—the passing of a law in 2004 banning religious symbols from public schools; the 2005 deaths of Bouna Traoré and Zyed Benna, which sparked riots against police brutality—underscore the injustice of a society that sees Muslims not as equals but as a problem to solve. With elegant, affecting prose, As We Exist charts Kaoutar’s political and intellectual awakening, which would become the heart and soul of her work as a sociologist and writer.
Critics Review
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“One of the most-discussed books of the moment…Harchi, the child of Moroccan immigrants, takes race as her subject, seen through the lens of her life in the Strasbourg suburbs.”
Times Literary Supplement
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A text of great, spare beauty.”
Vanity Fair (France)
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“Informative and inspiring from cover to cover. My heart was racing on every page of this book…a must-read for everyone.”
Abdi Nor Iftin, author of Call Me American: A Memoir
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“The magnetism of this book, its relevance, its keenness call for an immediate rereading…superb.”
Télérama
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Kaoutar Harchi
- Narrator
- Suehyla El-Attar Young
- Duration
- 3 hours 16 minutes
- Release Date
- 7 March 2023
- ISBN
- 9798212343343
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Blackstone Publishing
- Genre
- Memoirs, Colonialism and imperialism, Politics and government, Social discrimination and equal treatment
Synopsis
In this thoughtful coming-of-age memoir, a young sociologist reflects on her Moroccan immigrant parents, their journey to France, and how growing up an outsider shaped her identity.Imbued with tenderness for her family and a critical view of the challenges facing French North African immigrants, Kaoutar Harchi’s probing account illustrates the deeply personal effects of political issues. Mixed with happy memories of her childhood home in eastern France are ever-present reminders of the dangers from which her parents sought to shield her. When they transfer her to a private, Catholic middle school—out of fear of Arab boys from their working-class neighborhood—Kaoutar grows increasingly conscious of her differences, and her conflicted sense of self.Notable events in her teens—the passing of a law in 2004 banning religious symbols from public schools; the 2005 deaths of Bouna Traoré and Zyed Benna, which sparked riots against police brutality—underscore the injustice of a society that sees Muslims not as equals but as a problem to solve. With elegant, affecting prose, As We Exist charts Kaoutar’s political and intellectual awakening, which would become the heart and soul of her work as a sociologist and writer.
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