Reading group on Tropic of Violence by Nathacha Appanah

Mois de la Francophonie 2023

This reading group is dedicated to the book. Please note that the author won’t be present in person.

Marie, a nurse on the island of Mayotte, adopts an abandoned baby and names him Moise, raising him as a French boy. As he grows up, Moise struggles with his status as an “outsider” and to understand why he was abandoned as a baby. When Marie dies, he is left alone, plunged into uncertainty and turmoil, ending up in the largest and most infamous slum on Mayotte, nicknamed “Gaza”.

Narrated by five different characters, Tropic of Violence is an exploration of lost youth on the French island of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean. Shining a powerful light on problems of violence, immigration and identity.

1h30 | in French | £5 standard, £3 members (incl. a drink)

You can find information on the book in English on the British publisher’s website.