Men Don't Cry

2022 Warwick Prize for Women in Translation Longlist

Men Don't Cry invites us into the home of Mourad Chennoun in Nice, where his father spends his days fixing things in the backyard, his mother bemoans the loss of her natal village in Algeria, & the name Dounia is taboo.

When his father has a stroke, Mourad is forced to rise above his fear of becoming an overweight bachelor, tied down to home by his mother's cooking, & take steps to bridge the gulf between his family & estranged sister Dounia.

This quest takes him to the Paris suburbs where he starts his teaching career, falls into the world of undocumented Algerian toyboys and discovers that Dounia has become a staunch feminist, aspiring politician & fierce assimilationist. Can Mourad adapt to his new, fast-paced Parisian life and uphold his family's values?

A poignant coming-of-age story from the widely-acclaimed author of Just Like Tomorrow.