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Bucheon City of Literature

Winner

The 2025 Winner
Le pays des autres(The Country of Others)(Gallimard, 2020)

Le pays des autres(The Country of Others)(Gallimard, 2020)

“That’s how things are here.”
She was to hear this phrase many times.

As World War II winds down, a French woman named Mathilde falls in love with a Moroccan man named Amine, bridging the gulf between their home countries of France and Morocco, colonizer and colonized. But when Mathilde moves to Morocco, she finds herself being subjugated to the will of others as foreigner, woman, and wife. This book presents the experience of living as a woman in a male-dominated society—as well as a colony deprived of its sovereignty—through exquisite descriptions and powerful prose.“

  • About the Author

    Leïla Slimani <Francesca Mantovani © Editions Gallimard>
    Leïla Slimani

    Born in Morocco and educated in Paris, Leïla Slimani earned her bachelor’s degree from the Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po) before working as a journalist. She began writing fiction in 2013 and made her debut in 2014 with 『Adèle (French title: Dans le jardin de l’ogre)』. Her second novel, 『Lullaby (French title: Chanson douce)』, won the 2016 Prix Goncourt and received wide acclaim from critics and press, as well as the reading public. In 2017, the president of France named Slimani his special representative for the French language in recognition of her elegant and captivating prose. That same year she published 『Sex and Lies (French title: Sexe et mensonges)』, a nonfiction book compiling the stories of Moroccan women. Her next literary project was a trilogy consisting of 『The Country of Others (French title: Le pays des autres, 2020)』, 『Watch Us Dance (French title: Regardez-nous danser, 2022)』, and 『J’emporterai le feu (only published in French, 2025)』. In 2023, she chaired the International Booker Prize’s panel of judges, cementing her reputation in the world of letters.

  • Korean translation

    Sun-Jin HWANG
    Sun-Jin HWANG

    Sun-Jin HWANG earned her bachelor’s degree in archaeology and art history and pursued graduate studies in 20th- and 21st-century art history at Paris Nanterre University. She is currently focused on bringing the worlds of art and literature to a wider audience by delivering lectures on art history and translating literature. Following her translation of 『The Country of Others』 in 2022, she is currently working on her next translation.

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