So Distant From My Life
Burkina Faso

So Distant From My Life

by Monique Ilboudo

Immigration Literary Fiction 2018

Summary

Jeanphi is a young man from the fictional West African city of Ouabany who dreams of escaping poverty and building a new life in Europe. Determined to shape his own destiny, he abandons the path his family has chosen for him and embarks on a dangerous migration journey across the Sahara. After being exploited by smugglers and deported from Morocco, he returns home disillusioned but unwilling to surrender his ambitions. His life takes an unexpected turn when he meets Elgep, an affluent French widower hoping to establish a vocational training centre for disadvantaged young people. Their encounter offers Jeanphi a possible route toward a different future, but it also forces him to confront questions about sexuality, identity, dependency, and the unequal relationships between Africa and Europe. In this thought-provoking novel, Monique Ilboudo examines the desperation that drives migration, the contradictions of humanitarian aid, and the social pressures that shape people’s decisions about where they belong.

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About the author
Monique Ilboudo
Monique Ilboudo

Monique Ilboudo is a Burkinabè novelist, human rights activist, and former diplomat whose work explores gender inequality, social justice, and the complexities of life in contemporary West Africa. Born in Burkina Faso in 1959, she studied law and earned a doctorate in private law from the Sorbonne in Paris. She became an important voice in discussions about women’s rights, using journalism and literature to challenge discriminatory traditions and advocate for greater equality. Ilboudo began her literary career with Le Mal de peau (1992), widely recognized as the first novel published by a woman in Burkina Faso. She subsequently wrote Murekatete (2000), which addresses the trauma of the Rwandan genocide, and published essays examining women’s rights and social conditions in Burkina Faso. Alongside her writing, Ilboudo pursued a career in public service. She served as Burkina Faso’s Secretary of State for the Promotion of Human Rights before becoming the country’s Minister for the Promotion of Human Rights in 2002. She later worked as a diplomat, representing Burkina Faso abroad. Her novel So Distant From My Life, originally published in French as Si loin de ma vie in 2018, explores migration, sexuality, and the unequal power relationships that shape encounters between Africa and Europe. The English translation by Yarri Kamara received the PEN/Heim Translation Fund grant and was shortlisted for the 2023 ALTA National Translation Award. Ilboudo is recognized as a significant figure in Francophone African literature, combining storytelling with a longstanding commitment to human rights and social change.

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Details
Published
2018
Author
Monique Ilboudo