Quebecer Éric Chacour and his novel Ce que je sais de toi are now among the second selections of two prestigious literary prizes in France, namely Femina and Renaudot, which unveiled its list on Thursday.
Nine titles are still in the running for the Renaudot prize, including L’enragé, by Sorj Chalandon (Grasset), Panorama, by Lilia Hassaine (Gallimard), Western, by Maria Pourchet (Stock), and Sur la bande, by Fred Vargas ( Flammarion).
What I Know About You is the first novel by Éric Chacour, born in Montreal to Egyptian parents. It tells the fate of Tarek, a doctor in Cairo in the 1980s who will be driven into exile, and was published in January in Quebec by Alto. It came third in the best-selling novels as part of the August 12, I’m buying a Quebec book movement. In France, it was published on August 24 by publisher Philippe Rey and has already won the Première Plume prize, which aims to highlight emerging authors.
The Femina finalists will be revealed on October 24 and the winner will be announced on November 6. For Renaudot, the unveiling of the finalists is scheduled for October 26 and that of the winner, on November 7, at Drouant, in Paris, with that of Goncourt.
