Diadié Dembélé was born in Kodié, in western Mali. A graduate of the Master of literary creation from the University of Paris VIII, he works as an interpreter in an association to help migrants. ” The duel of the grandmothers »Is his first novel, it is published by editions JC Lattès.
” Because he skips school to read, eat donuts and play marbles, because he replies insolently, because he speaks French better than the French in France and begins to forget his mother tongue , Hamet, a young boy from Bamako, is sent far from the capital, to the village where his two grandmothers live.
His parents hope that these few months will teach him obedience, respect for traditions, humility.
But Hamet by meeting his grandmothers, by drinking the salt water from the well, by working in the fields, by bonding with the boys of the village, will discover much more than obedience: the history of his family, the secrets of his family, of which he is the son and the grandson. It is a return to his roots which offers him the world, makes him grow faster. “
(Presentation ofJC Lattès editions)