Ève Guerra
REPATRIATOIN
Translated from French by Clodagh Kinsella
FRANCE
ISBN: 978-1-917544-02-3
A powerful examination of grief, family lies and the postcolonial condition in one woman’s attempt to repatriate her father’s body to France.
Annabella Morelli is twenty-three years old, dreams of becoming a poet and lives in Lyon, far from Congo-Brazzaville where she was born. The daughter of a Franco-Italian worker, and a Congolese girl who became a mother too young, Annabella remembers a happy childhood until one Christmas, at the age of seven, her father's anger exploded, and her mother left the family home.
When she learns of his death in Cameroon, her world collapses for the second time and in her desperate attempt to repatriate her father’s body to France, Annabella is forced to confront the family secrets, lies and deep trauma at the heart of her existence. This stunning debut explores grief, family relationships, personal truths and the post-colonial condition with beautiful, urgent writing. It was the winner of the 2024 Prix Goncourt du Premier Roman and the 2024 Prix Transfuge du Meilleur Premier Roman.
“A truly sensitive first novel and a beautiful portrait of a contemporary young woman struggling with a difficult heritage.”
LES INROCKUPTIBLES
“Echoing her own story, Ève Guerra exorcises the pain of her loss in this explosive cry of love and hate intertwined.”
LE NOUVEL OBSERVATEUR
“Her beautiful language nimbly blends romantic description, dramatic prose and poetry and abolishes the boundaries between sounds and words, inner dialogue and conversations.”
LE MONDE DES LIVES
“Form Old Lyon to the forests of Gabon, from the Atlantic coast to Douala, Ève Guerra weaves a dazzling first novel, marked by exile and unspoken words, like the painful poetry of a verse by Baudelaire.”
LIVRES HEBDO
AUTHOR
ÈVE GUERRA is a novelist, poet, journalist and teacher. She grew up in Congo Brazzaville, which she fled during the civil war. She is now a teacher of Latin, ancient Greek and French, a columnist for Lire and the author of a collection of poetry. Repatriation is Ève’s first novel.
TRANSLATOR
CLODAGH KINSELLA is a French-to-English literary translator who has carried the writings of Georges Didi-Huberman, Jean-Luc Nancy and Nicole Brenez into English. Her translation of La Nuit (The Night, Book Works, 2013/2021), Situationist Michèle Bernstein’s second novel, was praised by authors including Anakana Schofield, Stewart Home and Greil Marcus; she also co-wrote an adaptation of the novel.
Alongside translation, Clodagh is a travel writer who contributes to many international publications and broadcasts for BBC Radio 4. She holds an M.A. in Literary Translation from the University of East Anglia, where she is completing a PhD.
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