The Fundación Tres Culturas in Seville was the chosen venue for the presentation of Me llevaré el fuego (Cabaret Voltaire), the latest novel by Leila Slimani. This book, which merges autobiographical elements with fiction, explores the duality of French life and the author's Maghrebi roots, attracting a full and predominantly female audience.
“"In my family, diverse cultures coexisted. I experienced it from childhood. I worked to find a common ground, where there was no single truth despite the differences. I conceive literature as a way of doing justice to my thought, as a way of seeing the world. I am allergic to the imposition of a single truth."
The work concludes the Belhahc family trilogy, which began with El país de los otros and continued with Miradnos bailar. In this final installment, the narrative focuses on the latest generations of the saga, offering a broad polyphonic and culturally diverse fresco that reflects the writer's own journey.
Slimani has highlighted her interest in "otherness" and the ability to reinvent oneself through imagination. The author, who feels Moroccan in France and French in Morocco, enjoys this alterity and considers it a source of happiness. Her literature addresses the journey of immigration from a sensitive perspective, seeking to decolonize minds and bodies.
“"I wanted to tell the journey of immigration from a sensitive side. We must reinvent the word imagination. Imagination is freedom. We can reinvent ourselves wherever we go."
Known for her focus on female characters, Slimani has explored the complexity of women in her previous works, such as En el jardín del ogro (2014), Canción dulce (2016), winner of the Goncourt Prize, and the essay Sexo y mentiras (2017). Although she has not revealed the title of her next book, she has hinted that she will continue to explore themes related to women.
