Standing Heavy (ebook)

Description

Shortlisted for the 2023 International Booker PrizeA funny, fast-paced, and poignant take on Franco-African history, as told through the eyes of three African security guards in Paris.All over the city, they are watching: Black men paid to stand guard, invisible amongst the rich white flneursand yet the only ones who truly see. From Les Grands Moulins and the sales at Camaeu to a Sephora on the Champs-lyses, Ferdinand, Ossiri, and Kassoum, two generations of Ivoirians, seek their way as undocumented workers amidst political bickering at the Residence for Students from Cte dIvoire and the ever-changing landscape of French immigration policy. Fast-paced and funny, poignant and sharply satirical,Standing Heavyis a searingly witty deconstruction of colonial legacies and capitalist consumption and an unforgettable, unprecedented account of everything that passes under the security guards all-seeing eyes.Praise forStanding HeavyThis book is about the anti-flneurs: not the rich white men who roam the boulevards of Paris but poorly paid Black men whose jobs require them to stand still. As a security guard, the protagonist ofStanding Heavyis invisible but sees everything. Told in a fragmentary styleas if from different camera anglesthis is the story of colonialism and consumerism, of the specifics of power, and of the hope of the sixties diminishing as society turns cynical and corrupt.International Booker Prize Judges citationInventive and very funny.John Self,The GuardianThis compact, humane satire, deftly translated by Frank Wynne, entertains as much as it informs.Lucy Popescu,Financial TimesA cunning observer and a disenchanted protestor, Gauz makes shopping an ethnological mine, a priceless sketch and a combat sport.ElleGauz casts a tender, yet lucid gaze on the African community. By devoting a book to the shadowy men of security, Gauz finally gives voice and life to those who, oddly enough, are invisible.Le Matricule des AngesA funny and poignant intergenerational tale of three Ivoirian men newly arrived in Paris. And a sharp social and political commentary, delivered via the sharp eyes of the black security guards that white Paris relies on to keep itself safe.Tiffany Tsao, author ofThe Majesties