Mohamed Mbougar Sarr

For the Senegalese football player, see Mohamed Sarr.

Mohamed Mbougar Sarr
Mohamed Mbougar Sarr in 2021
Born	(1990-06-20) 20 June 1990 (age 34) Dakar, Senegal
Occupation	Writer
Language	French
Nationality	Senegalese
Education	Prytanée militaire de Saint-Louis Lycée Pierre-d'Ailly
Alma mater	School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences
Years active	2014–present
Notable works	The Most Secret Memory of Men (2021)
Notable awards	Prix Goncourt (2021)
Website
chosesrevues.over-blog.com

Mohamed Mbougar Sarr (born 20 June 1990)^[1][2] is a Senegalese writer. Raised in Diourbel, Senegal and later studying in France, Sarr is the author of four novels as well as a number of award-winning short stories. He won the 2021 Prix Goncourt for his novel The Most Secret Memory of Men, becoming the first Sub-Saharan African to do so.

Early life

Mohamed Mbougar Sarr was born in 1990 in Dakar, Senegal.^[3] The son of a physician, he grew up in a large Serer family in Diourbel.^[4][5] He completed his secondary studies at the Prytanée militaire of Saint-Louis. He moved to France to study in CPGE (classe préparatoire aux grandes écoles) at the lycée Pierre-d'Ailly [fr] in Compiègne. He later studied at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS), where his research focused on Léopold Sédar Senghor. Sarr began writing more and pursued fiction, opting not to finish his thesis at the EHESS.^[5]

Career

Sarr's short story "La cale" (2014), about the slave trade, was awarded the Prix Stéphane-Hessel.^[6] His debut novel, Terre ceinte (2015), describes life in a fictional Sahelian village under the control of Islamist jihadi militias.^[6] In 2015, it received the Prix Ahmadou-Kourouma at the Salon du livre of Geneva. It was also awarded the 2015 Grand prix du roman métis by the city of Saint-Denis de La Réunion,^[7] as well as the 2015 Prix du roman métis des lycéens.^[8] In 2021, an English translation by Alexia Trigo, titled Brotherhood, was published by Europa Editions.^[9]

At the 2017 Jeux de la Francophonie, he received the bronze medal in the literature category for his short story "Ndënd".^[10]

His second novel, Silence du chœur (2017), a portrait of the day-to-day life of African migrants in Sicily, received the prix littérature monde at the Étonnants Voyageurs [fr] festival in Saint-Malo. It also received the Prix du roman métis des lecteurs of Saint-Denis de La Réunion in 2018.^[11][12] In 2024, an English translation by Alison Anderson, titled The Silence of the Choir, was published by Europa Editions.^[13]

His third novel, De purs hommes (2018), deals with the prejudice and violence surrounding homosexuality in Senegal, where it is still illegal to be openly gay.

Mohamed Mbougar Sarr entering Drouant in Paris to receive the Prix Goncourt on 3 November 2021.

In November 2021, he was awarded the Prix Goncourt for his novel La plus secrète mémoire des hommes (lit. 'The Most Secret Memory of Men').^[14] Sarr won in the first round of voting, by six votes against three votes for Sorj Chalandon and one vote for Louis-Philippe Dalembert.^[15] He is the first person from Sub-Saharan Africa to win the Prix Goncourt^[16],.^[17] At 31 years old, he is also the youngest Goncourt laureate since Patrick Grainville won in 1976.^[18] The novel was also shortlisted for the Prix Femina^[19] and the Prix Renaudot;^[20] and longlisted for the Prix Médicis^[21] and for the 2023 National Book Award for Translated Literature.^[22]

Prizes

• 2014: Prix Stéphane-Hessel for "La cale"^[23]
• 2015: Prix Ahmadou-Kourouma for Brotherhood^[24]
• 2015: Grand prix du roman métis for Brotherhood^[25]
• 2021: Prix Goncourt for The Most Secret Memory of Men^[26]

Works

• — (2014). "La cale".
• — (2014). Terre ceinte. Paris: Éditions Présence Africaine. ISBN 978-2-7087-0881-5.
  • — (2021). Brotherhood. Translated by Trigo, Alexia. Europa Editions. ISBN 978-1-60945-672-6.
• — (2017). Silence du chœur. Paris: Éditions Présence Africaine. ISBN 9782708709041.
  • — (2024). The Silence of the Choir. Translated by Anderson, Alison. New York: Europa Editions. ISBN 9798889660200.
• — (2018). De purs hommes [fr]. Éditions Philippe Rey / Jimsaan. ISBN 978-2-84876-663-8.
• — (2021). La plus secrète mémoire des hommes. Éditions Philippe Rey / Jimsaan. ISBN 978-2-84876-886-1.
  • — (2023). The Most Secret Memory of Men. Translated by Vergnaud, Lara. New York: Other Press. ISBN 978-1-63542-327-3.

References

1. Mohellebi, Aomar (6 November 2021). "Prix Goncourt 2021: Un écrivain sénégalais de 31 ans lauréat". L'Expression. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
2. "LA PLUS SECRÈTE MÉMOIRE DES HOMMES - Fiche de lecture - Encyclopædia Universalis". www.universalis.fr. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
3. Roussel, Frédérique (3 November 2021). "Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, Goncourt du renouveau". Libération (in French). Retrieved 3 November 2021.
4. Littérature: le Sénégalais Mohamed Mbougar Sarr remporte le prix Kourouma pour « Terre Ceinte », Jeune Afrique, 1 May 2015 (French).
5. "Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, premier écrivain d'Afrique subsaharienne à remporter le prix Goncourt". Libération (in French). 3 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
6. Alix, Florian (2015). "Terre ceinte". Afrique contemporaine (in French). 256 (4): 158. doi:10.3917/afco.256.0158. ISSN 0002-0478.
7. Morand, Catherine (4 May 2015). "Le roman d'un jeune Sénégalais, Terre ceinte, reçoit le prix Kourouma 2015". Le Monde Afrique (in French). Archived from the original on 12 September 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
8. "Prix du Roman Métis des Lycéens 2015". La Réunion des Livres (in French). 8 December 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
9. Nelson, Caleb Azumah (6 July 2021). "Debut Novels by Jesse McCarthy, Gabriel Krauze and Mohamed Mbougar Sarr". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
10. "Jeux de la francophonie : Mohamed Mbougar Sarr remporte la médaille de bronze de la catégorie littérature". La Libre Afrique. 26 July 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
11. "Le Sénégalais Mohamed Mbougar Sarr lauréat du prix Littérature-monde 2018". Jeune Afrique (in French). Agence France-Presse. 19 May 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
12. "Prix du Roman Métis des Lecteurs". La Réunion des Livres (in French). Retrieved 3 November 2021.
13. Mengestu, Dinaw (22 May 2024). "How Should the Stories of Migrants Be Told?". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
14. Henley, Jon (3 November 2021). "Senegal's Mohamed Mbougar Sarr wins top French literary prize". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
15. Payot, Marianne (4 November 2021). "Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, Goncourt 2021 : dans les coulisses d'une après-midi chargée". L'Express (in French). Retrieved 7 November 2021.
16. "Mohamed Mbougar Sarr wins Goncourt Prize, France's most prestigious literary award". France 24. 3 November 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
17. Michel, Nicolas. "Prix Goncourt 2021 : Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, la littérature et la vie".
18. de Saint-Vincent, Simon (3 November 2021). "Le prix Goncourt 2021 est attribué à Mohamed Mbougar Sarr". Vanity Fair France (in French). Retrieved 4 November 2021.
19. Develey, Alice (29 September 2021). "Découvrez la deuxième liste du prix Femina". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 4 November 2021.
20. Develey, Alice (7 October 2021). "Découvrez la deuxième liste du prix Renaudot". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 4 November 2021.
21. Develey, Alice (8 September 2021). "Le prix Médicis 2021 dévoile sa première sélection". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 4 November 2021.
22. "The 2023 National Book Awards Longlist: Translated Literature". The New Yorker. 13 September 2023. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
23. "Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, prix littérature-monde 2018". Le Point (in French). 15 May 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
24. "Salon du livre africain de Genève. Lauréat : "Terre ceinte" de Mohamed Mbougar Sarr". Le Point (in French). 1 May 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
25. Sénégal – Mohamed Mbougar Sarr : « Lire apporte un surplus de vision politique », Jeune Afrique, 7 May 2015 (French).
26. "Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, prix Goncourt 2021 pour "La plus secrète mémoire des hommes"". franceculture.fr. 3 November 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2021.