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A review by rabiahtd
Discretion by Faïza Guène
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
“Women are murdered by their own world, a thousand times over. Yet they still rise again, morning after morning.”
Discretion is the story of an Algerian matriarch’s life under colonial rule and her displacement there after.
Yamina is a 70 year old matriarch who left Algeria, moving to Morocco and then France following an arranged marriage. The book almost follows two story lines: Yamina’s life under French colonial rule and her and her children’s life in France. This is a wonderful book in many ways. SO much so that I have to list everything I have to say because I have a lot to day:
1. I was lucky enough to meet Faiza and hear first hand from her at her book launch in London. Being of French Algerian descent, Faiza spoke about how the string point of this story was asking her mother questions about her childhood under the colonial rule. Faiza spoke beautifully about the details in Discretion which are directly taken from her mothers life.
2. The narrative style is super interesting as we hear from all the characters. Each character gets their time and space to express their experiences. This leads to great character development and really allows us to deeply understand why each person is the way they are. When in London, I remember Faiza saying the reason Yamina has four children is that she wanted to depict the varied experiences of the different generations of immigrants. Faiza does this beautifully. The first difference is the difference between the ‘survival generation’ aka the first set of immigrant parents migrating and the second is the ‘wellbeing generation’. We see Yamina being a woman of patience. Despite all that she has endured due to French colonialism, her act of resistance is her refusal to be angry at the world. As Faiza beautifully puts it “the breast of this woman is devoid of any bitterness, which is in the order of a miracle when you think about it”.
3. Faiza has utilised this book to
beautifully enable children of immigrants to be able to
appreciate and understand the history they have
inherited. Faiza highlights the numerous clashes of
identity that occur when families are displaced and
forced to transport them selves from East to West. I
found a key theme in Discretion to be building of
bridges between the different generations despite the
clashing identity.
4. Faiza's ability to write North African Muslim men
has left me in complete awe. Yamina's husband is a
normal North African Muslim man, who loves his
children and his wife. Yamina's son Omar is an
average North African man. He carries emotions and
learns how to express him.
5. We also see Faiza touch on generational trauma,
through the character of Hannah. Hannah sees a
therapist, who explains that she is experiencing
generational trauma - that she has "inherited" the
violent and humiliating history of her family. I
remember Faiza saying during the book launch that
she wanted to take generational trauma head on
because for far too long immigrants and their children
have been forced to suffer in silence as though
displacement is not real. Faiza address displacement
and all the issues that emerge with displacement
head on.
Overall, this book has taught me so much about the
French Algerian experience. I also discussed what I
learned with some French Algerian friends and they
described this book as one of the best
representations of what it is like to be French
Algerian. Generally, I think many people will be able to
relate to the themes in this book.
Discretion is the story of an Algerian matriarch’s life under colonial rule and her displacement there after.
Yamina is a 70 year old matriarch who left Algeria, moving to Morocco and then France following an arranged marriage. The book almost follows two story lines: Yamina’s life under French colonial rule and her and her children’s life in France. This is a wonderful book in many ways. SO much so that I have to list everything I have to say because I have a lot to day:
1. I was lucky enough to meet Faiza and hear first hand from her at her book launch in London. Being of French Algerian descent, Faiza spoke about how the string point of this story was asking her mother questions about her childhood under the colonial rule. Faiza spoke beautifully about the details in Discretion which are directly taken from her mothers life.
2. The narrative style is super interesting as we hear from all the characters. Each character gets their time and space to express their experiences. This leads to great character development and really allows us to deeply understand why each person is the way they are. When in London, I remember Faiza saying the reason Yamina has four children is that she wanted to depict the varied experiences of the different generations of immigrants. Faiza does this beautifully. The first difference is the difference between the ‘survival generation’ aka the first set of immigrant parents migrating and the second is the ‘wellbeing generation’. We see Yamina being a woman of patience. Despite all that she has endured due to French colonialism, her act of resistance is her refusal to be angry at the world. As Faiza beautifully puts it “the breast of this woman is devoid of any bitterness, which is in the order of a miracle when you think about it”.
3. Faiza has utilised this book to
beautifully enable children of immigrants to be able to
appreciate and understand the history they have
inherited. Faiza highlights the numerous clashes of
identity that occur when families are displaced and
forced to transport them selves from East to West. I
found a key theme in Discretion to be building of
bridges between the different generations despite the
clashing identity.
4. Faiza's ability to write North African Muslim men
has left me in complete awe. Yamina's husband is a
normal North African Muslim man, who loves his
children and his wife. Yamina's son Omar is an
average North African man. He carries emotions and
learns how to express him.
5. We also see Faiza touch on generational trauma,
through the character of Hannah. Hannah sees a
therapist, who explains that she is experiencing
generational trauma - that she has "inherited" the
violent and humiliating history of her family. I
remember Faiza saying during the book launch that
she wanted to take generational trauma head on
because for far too long immigrants and their children
have been forced to suffer in silence as though
displacement is not real. Faiza address displacement
and all the issues that emerge with displacement
head on.
Overall, this book has taught me so much about the
French Algerian experience. I also discussed what I
learned with some French Algerian friends and they
described this book as one of the best
representations of what it is like to be French
Algerian. Generally, I think many people will be able to
relate to the themes in this book.