Of Syrian-Lebanese origin, Yasmine Khlat was born in Ismaïlia (Egypt). In Beirut, she became an actress and director, then, during the civil war, she left Lebanon for Paris, where she still lives. In 2001, his first novel “Despair is a sin” (Seuil) received the Prix des Cinq Continents de la Francophonie. At Elyzad editions, “Egypt 51” (2019), finalist for the Arab Literature Prize, and “Cet amour” (2020), Readers’ Prize of the Antre Guillemets, have been published.
“A convent lost in the Lebanese mountains, on the edge of a blue valley. The misty beauty of autumn. The rain, the cold, the barking of a dog in the distance. The hushed passage of the nuns in the corridors.
And this camera between two women: the enigmatic Hortense Zemina, charming sociologist of a “certain age”, and Claire, her young and fiery assistant recruited on classified ads.
Together, they try to elucidate the mystery of repeated suicides within the same family. Because Claire doesn’t want to budge – “Someone is in danger. »
Yasmine Khlat’s dreamy writing takes us into a suspended world woven with secrets.” (Presentation of Elyzad editions)