The book
A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
AN ECONOMIST BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR
A BOOK RIOT BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
FROM THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD-LONGLISTED AUTHOR OF THE MOST SECRET MEMORY OF MEN
A polyphonic tale of immigration and community by “the most promising Senegalese writer of his generation” (Le Monde) and winner of the 2021 Prix Goncourt
Seventy-two men arrive in the middle of the Sicilian countryside. They are “immigrants,” “refugees” or “migrants.” But in Altino, they’re called the ragazzi, the “guys” that the Santa Marta Association have taken responsibility for. In this small Sicilian town, their arrival changes life for everybody.
While they wait to know their fate, the ragazzi encounter all kinds of people: a strange vicar who rewrites their pasts, a woman committed to ensuring them asylum, a man determined to fight against it, an older ragazzo who has become an interpreter, and a reclusive poet who no longer writes.
Each character in this moving and important saga is forced to reflect on what it means to encounter people they know nothing about. They watch as a situation unfolds over which they have little control or insight. A story told through a growing symphony of voices that ends only when one final voice brings silence to the choir.
The author
Mohamed Mbougar Sarr
Mohamed Mbougar Sarr was born in Dakar in 1990. He studied literature and philosophy at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris. Brotherhood, his first novel, won the Grand Prix du Roman Métis, the Prix Ahmadou Kourouma, and the French Voices Grand Prize, in Alexia Trigo’s translation. He was named Chevalier of the National Order of Merit by the president of Senegal.
Press
- Jan 29 2025
"Introspective and gripping."
— Frenchly - Jul 1 2024
“Sarr moves adroitly between the viewpoints of a wide cast of characters.”
— The New Yorker - Jun 27 2024
A New York Times Editor’s Choice
— New York Times - Jun 10 2024
“Nothing short of masterful.”
— Under the Radar - May 22 2024
“How we understand a person.”
— New York Times Book Review - May 13 2024
“A moving, dynamic story.”
— BookPage