2023-08-22 13:11:33
After schooling in Tangier, and a stint at ENS, Salma, 24, published Adieu Tanger, a first novel in the form of a farewell. Interview between two cities.
Photo caption: CHAINED_ Salma poses with her main character’s necklace, a symbol of her attachment to Tangier,
Your beginnings?
Salma El Moumni: When I arrived in France, I did a preparation course and joined the École Normale Supérieure in Lyon. I then did a master’s in comparative literature, as well as a master’s in publishing.
Your novel is about a young girl, Alia, and her relationship with her body, in Morocco and then in France.
In the book, Alia is very conscious of her body precisely because she feels that it is a disturbing presence, in the street in Tangier, and in her relationship with her father. Gradually, it becomes the relationship with her own reflection when she looks at herself or takes a picture of herself. In France, it is a relationship to her body marked by the fact that she is Arab. For example, she will compare the color of her skin to that of women who ride the subway or her facial features.
How did this topic come about?
There are common experiences between me and my character, as with any girl of our generation. In the sensuality that can emerge in spite of oneself, or the sexualization of the body, perhaps more when you are a Moroccan woman.
The city of Tangier is a character in its own right in this book.
Absolutely. Alia has a relationship with the city that looks like a love relationship. It’s like leaving someone you still love. Over time, we imagine his face, we idealize it, we fantasize about it…
Your expectations for the book?
The question of the body is quite universal. I hope some people will feel less alone when they read this.
Adieu Tanger (Grasset editions, 180 pages, €18)
By Anais Dubois
Photo : Arnaud Juhérian
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