by Ryad Assani-Razaki
“Leaving kills us, staying promises a slow death.” It is in these harsh terms that Ryad Assani-Razaki once summed up Africa’s dilemma.
A highly topical, disturbing novel about the lives of three street children in Africa. A book about friendship and love, hate and betrayal. Assani-Razaki shows in an unforgettable way what can motivate people to leave everything behind and give their lives to a boat heading for Europe.
In an unnamed African country devoured by rampant urbanization and haunted by the mirages of Western prosperity, where for a few CFA francs a child can be sold and bought for slavery, exile is the only viable option for Iman. Obsessed by this unattainable elsewhere to the point of losing himself completely, he remains, for those close to him, an object of fascination difficult to define. Will Toumani and Alissa, his two dearest friends, manage to keep him close to them?
A story of attachment and betrayal, violence and despair, The Hand of Iman implicitly recounts the drama of an entire continent. A first novel of rare strength, it was awarded the Robert Cliche Prize and was a finalist for the Governor General’s Prize.
Publication: Spring 2025
Publisher:
House of Anansi Press
Rights sold:
- North America, English: House of Anansi Press
- World, French: l’Hexagone
- German: Verlag Klaus Wagenbach