"It's probably his age that makes the worrying worse. But he can't help picking up on every detail that ruins his day, stoking his unease and filling him with fear and shame. After dinner he gathers up the empty wine bottles, shoves them in rubbish bags and drives two kilometres to dump them in a bin. He's worried about being denounced by that red-haired guy who monitors the parking in his street, the one who's let his beard grow and calls the girls at the private school bitches and whores. "We should marry them off whether they like it or not, right professor?" Amine does not reply. Amine says nothing." Lela Slimani
This collection brings together three short volumes of work by Goncourt-winning author Lela Slimani. The stories and essays in The Devil is in the Detail approach questions close to Slimani's heart: Islam and fundamentalism, the importance of literature, and Paris as a symbol of freedom and tolerance. On Writing is an illuminating dialogue in which Slimani discusses her writing approach and techniques, and My Heroine: Simone Veil is a homage to Veil, a feminist pioneer who fought tirelessly for women's rights. From everyday restrictions to national tragedies, Slimani grapples with important and eternal issues, and is unafraid to face them head on.