Leïla Slimani’s Chanson Douce Is Most Read of 2016 in France

By Amira El Masaiti

Rabat – Moroccan novelist Leïla Slimani ranked at the top of L’Express-RTL’s annual chart on Tuesday, as the most read francophone author of 2016.

Slimani’s psychological thriller, Chanson Douce, was the most read novel in France in 2016, ranking higher than Petit Pays, by Gaël Faye and The Daughter of Brooklyn, by Guillaume Musso.

With more than 450,000 copies printed in 2016, “Chanson Douce” quickly turned into a bestseller, winning the Prix Gouncourt, awarded to “the best and most imaginative work of the year” for 2016.

The novel is a contemporary tale, transmitting the sense of alienation and despair that springs from social inequality and injustice.

Slimani was born in Rabat and majored in political science and media studies in Paris, where she acquired her French citizenship. In 2014 she published her first novel “Dans le jardin de l’ogre” and followed it with “Chanson Douce.”