Reviews

Le dernier livre de Faïza Guene m'a fait beaucoup penser à un autre roman de sa bibliographie, "Un Homme, ça ne pleure pas", tout aussi réussi. Dans les deux oeuvres, un ingrédient que l'on retrouve très souvent chez cette autrice : des tranches de vie d'une famille d'immigrés algériens en France, et les questionnements des enfants nés sur le sol français. Mais si "Un Homme ça ne pleure pas" se focalise principalement sur un jeune homme qui se bat avec sa double identité, tandis qu'une de ses grandes soeurs prend l'ascenceur social au prix de la rupture avec sa famille, dans La Discrétion, le focus est sur la figure de la mère de famille, Yamina. Obligée de se faire toute petite pour mener une vie sans histoire dans un pays qui rejette sa culture, on ne soupçonne pas à quel point elle a traversé avec courage les années pendant lesquelles l'Algérie a lutté pour obtenir son indépendance. Faïza Guène s'attache justement à mettre en lumière cette histoire de liberté arrachée, en donnant aussi alternativement la parole à chacun des enfants de Yamina, bien conscients du leurre de la méritocratie. C'est juste, c'est drôle, ça réenchante les lieux dans lesquels je vis ou j'ai vécu, bref je ne suis jamais déçue par cette autrice.

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Discretion is the story of an Algerian-French family, exploring the differing experiences of first and second generation migrants, inherited trauma and life under colonial rule, displacement, belonging, identity and more. I especially loved that the main character was the family 70 year old matriarch, that the family - including the males - was so warm and loving, and that each family member had different experiences and opinions, contributing to an overall richer and more nuanced picture.

Content Warnings

lit_africa's review

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emotional hopeful slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

katherinetalia's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

aishathebibliophile's review against another edition

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emotional funny

4.5

blessing_aj's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Much like Faiza did in Men Don’t Cry which I absolutely enjoyed reading, the bulk of the issues highlighted in Discretion are centered around migration and it’s peculiarities.

We follow the unraveling of events through different timelines in France, Algeria and Morocco. We also get to experience the story through multiple POVs including that of Yamina, the Taleb matriarch, all the other family members and some other acquaintances.

Sometimes one comes across a translated version of a novel where the translator has done such a good job with the sentence structure that it almost reads like it was originally written in English. This is not one of those and I am envious of those who get to read it in French.

That said, Faiza’s sense of humor is to die for and I loved it for capturing each generation and personality in the Taleb family so well even if the constant head hopping never failed to take me by surprise. I also loved it for brazenly portraying the challenges of being a first and second generation African living in France.

thatothernigeriangirl's review

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challenging funny informative reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Yamina is an interesting character; I especially love that she’s in her 70s.

I thought the narration style of this one was interesting; it felt like pictures in motion, with Yamina being the start of the ‘movie’ (as she’s the main narrator) but the camera occasionally zooming in on other characters (including the racist/bigoted White French ones). I found it amusing and admittedly enjoyed it, but I really wished I heard more from Yamina. It’s not every time we get a female Arab protagonist in her 70s!

I also love that the Taleb family is such a warm, loving one. They all have their flaws, and societal and cultural expectations, as well as even internalized patriarchy left dents in their family dynamics — but it’s undeniable the love that they shared.

As usual, Guene has deftly examined the burden that comes with inheriting generational trauma, how angry it can make you: “ it’s normal to feel angry, it’s anger that has been repressed for so long, it’s unjust, all of this, and injustice, by its nature, makes us profoundly angry” 👌🏾

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