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now married and with children of her own, is working as a lawyer in Paris. She is summoned to Dakar by her absent father, supposedly a successful businessman. On arrival, she discovers her brother Sony is in prison for the alleged murder of his stepmother, and the father — whom she still fears and dislikes — wants her to defend him in court. He is now broke. Sony then alleges from prison that his father was actually the murderer, leaving Norah to challenge her father...but the account ends there.
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a journey to Europe. When she abandons a first attempt to leave by boat and is badly injured, she encounters a young man becomes her lover and persuades her to join him on the journey through the desert. Robbed by border police, she is forced into prostitution when they run out of all their money. He eventually robs and abandons her. Finally we see her trying and failing to climb the border fence at one of the
Spanish enclaves in Morocco.
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The third part returns to a maid, Khady Demba, whom the reader encountered in Norah's father's house in Dakar. Despite getting "a minuscule helping of the good things in life" she is nourished by determination, and memories of a caring grandmother. Khady is later widowed and abandoned and sets out on
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The second story takes place in the
Gironde in France (where Marie Ndiaye actually owns a house), where Fanta, a teacher, and her academic husband Rudy have a serious argument, and he shouts "go back where you came from". This racist remark has repercussions for their relationship. An earlier racist
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The first story is inspired in part by Ndiaye's own life, and is built around the departure of a
Senegalese father from France, taking with him his only son Sony, and abandoning his wife and daughters (Ndiaye's Senegalese father left when she was a year old, in a similar way). One daughter, Norah,
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incident in their lives, which led to them fleeing
Senegal where he had been teaching in the International School, is revealed. The theme is of patriarchal control, and a life unravelling — as in the first story, control over children is an issue.
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The novel is composed of three accounts and is a history of three women, Norah, Fanta and Khady, who reject humiliation and embrace life. The unifying theme is that they are threatened or abandoned by men.
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164:Summary
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