num_pages: 79
description: Silence on the Shores depicts the final day in the life of a Maghrebian immigrant in France. Having crossed the Mediterranean to the other shore as a young man to find work he ultimately remained in France married a French woman and broke the promise he made to his mother to return home one day. Aware that death is drawing close he fears experiencing the ultimate form of exile: dying alone with no fellow Muslim at his side to whisper the customary prayer for the dead in his ear. Lela Sebbars minimalist style deftly and powerfully conveys the simplicity of everyday life on both shores of the Mediterranean. Interweaving several monologues she examines multiple facets of exile and the role of memory in easing its pain.
language: English
title: Silence on the Shores
publisher: Bison Books