French - Writer | October 3, 1981 -
I am not afraid of being a pariah.
Leila Slimani
I AmAfraidBeingAm
I remember that the first time I looked at my son, of course I felt love. But I think the first feeling was not love: it was fear. Someone is needing me. If something happens to him, what am I going to do? Maybe I won't survive if something happens to him? The fear was as big as the love.
LoveFearSonTimeMeSurvive
'Lullaby' is about boundaries.
BoundariesAboutLullaby
I knew I wanted to write about a nanny, but it was difficult for me to find a narrative rhythm.
MeFindWriteDifficultRhythmKnew
When you live closely with people, you don't see who they really are. In particular, with nannies, they only exist in your home, and when they leave, they don't really exist anymore for you.
HomeLivePeopleYouSeeLeave
I like to describe my characters as though they were all trapped in a glass box.
GlassTrappedBoxLikeDescribe
The only way you can know someone is through their actions - you can never know what's going on inside them.
SomeoneYouKnowWayNeverInside
I had a nanny growing up in Morocco, and my parents encouraged me to put myself in her shoes sometimes.
ShoesMyselfParentsMeGrowing Up
I am not patriotic or nationalistic, but the French language is like a country where I take refuge when I have nowhere else to go. It consoles me for everything. For me, the language no longer belongs to the colonialists.
I AmMeLanguageCountryGoNowhere
Authors have a nationality; books do not.
BooksNationalityAuthors
I, too, am interested in identity and Islam, which is what people expect of us. But one must not write what is expected. It's important for North African writers to show they have other things to say.
IdentityPeopleImportantSayIslam
I remember, when I was a teenager, people telling me, 'You know, when you are a mother, you will never feel lonely. You will feel so much love, and you will be fulfilled by this love.' Then I became a mother. And I learnt that is absolutely wrong: you can feel very lonely with your children, even if you love them.
LoveMotherChildrenPeopleMeYou
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