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Rabat – The Moroccan Novelist Zineb Mekouar has been selected as a finalist for the “First Novel” category of the Goncourt Prize with her novel “La Poule et son Cumin”.
French literary organization the Goncourt Academy announced on Tuesday, April 5 its finalists for the categories of “First Novel”, “Short Story”, and “Biography”.
Mekouar’s novel, which was recently published in France by JC Lattes, tackles the social and political divisions of contemporary Morocco.
The novel recounts the story of two radically opposed young Moroccan women; Kenza, and Fatiha.
Kenza studies in Paris, France and comes from a wealthy family. She returns to Morocco, where she reconnects with Fatiha, her childhood friend and the daughter of her nanny.
Fatiha gets pregnant out of wedlock and finds herself facing the reality of a conservative Moroccan society that prohibits love outside marriage and punishes abortion.
According to Mekouar, the novel “allows you to see women of opposite classes, how they grow and evolve despite the environment and laws that can sometimes be outdated.”
Mekouar was born in Casablanca, Morocco in 1991. She has been living in Paris, France since 2009.
After graduating from Science Po and HEC Paris, she worked in strategy consulting and then as a public affairs officer for a start-up incubator.
Mekouar’s novel has been selected for the “First Novel” category alongside five other finalists; Etienne Kern with “Les envoles”, Eve-Marie des Places with “La recitante”, Walid Hajar Rachedi with “Qu’est-ce que j’irai faire au paradis ?”, Douan Bui with “La Tour”, and Adele Rosenfeld with “Les méduses n’ont pas d’oreilles”.
The Goncourt Academy will announce the winners on May 10.
Goncourt Literary Society, known as Goncourt Academy, is a French literary organization based in Paris.
French writer and publisher Edmond de Goncourt founded the academy in 1900 to promote literature in France.
Read also: Three Moroccans Shortlisted for Sheikh Zayed Book Award
