Author(s): Gauz

"One of those rare, transformative novels" KARIM MISKE
"Funny and poignant" TIFFANY TSAO, author of The Majesties

Initially a little intrigued, all babies eventually return the security guard's smile.
The security guard adores babies. Perhaps because babies do not shoplift.
Babies adore the security guard. Perhaps because he does not drag babies to the sales.

The 1960s - Ferdinand arrives in Paris from Côte d'Ivoire, ready to take on the world and become a big somebody.
The 1990s - It is the Golden Age of immigration, and Ossiri and Kassoum navigate a Paris on the brink of momentous change.
The 2010s - In a Sephora on the Champs-Élysées, the all-seeing eyes of a security guard observes the habits of those who come to worship at this church to consumerism.

Amidst the political bickering of the inhabitants of the Residence for Students from Côte d'Ivoire and the ever-changing landscape of French immigration policy, Ferdinand, Ossiri and Kassoum, two generations of Ivoirians, attempt to make their way as undocumented workers, taking shifts as security at a flour mill.

Sharply satirical, political and poignant, Standing Heavy is a searingly witty deconstruction of colonial legacies and capitalist consumption, an unprecedented and unforgettable account of everything that passes under a security guard's gaze.

Translated from the French by Frank Wynne

"A formidable keenness of observation and a sarcastic wit" La Croix
"Political satire with the air of a poetry slam" Stylist

The legacies of French colonial history and the resulting fractures in Parisian society, along with the conformism and competitiveness of last-stage Capitalism are explored with great verve and humour in this sharply satirical novel in which an Ivorian immigrant working as a security guard in a department store observes the impact of vast social pressures on the miniscule particulars of everyday life. GauZ’’s supple text is filled with recognisable observations on the ‘human condition’ (so to call it), and also provides a context and texture that helps us to understand the current unrest in France.
>>Read an extract.
>>Questions for the author and the translator.
>>Hear an extract.
>>GauZ’ talks with David Foenkinos.
>>Your copy of Standing Heavy.
>>Other books listed for the 2023 International Booker Prize.

Author Biography: GauZ' is an Ivorian author, journalist and screenwriter. After studying biochemistry, he moved to Paris as an undocumented student, working as a security guard before returning to the Cote d'Ivoire. His first novel, Standing Heavy, came out in 2014 and won the Prix des libraires Gibert Joseph, and was followed by Comrade Papa, which won the 2019 Prix Ethiophile, and Black Manoo. GauZ' is the editor-in-chief of the satirical economic newspaper News & co, and has written screenplays and documentary films.

32.00 NZD

Stock: 0

Order this Item

Add to Wishlist