Nomadic Voices of Exile examines the effects of postmodern sentiment on perceptions of feminine identity since the end of the French-colonial era. The authors discussed here, both those who reside in the Maghreb and those who have had to seek asylum in France, find themselves at the intersection of French and North African viewpoints, exposing a complicated world that must be negotiated and redefined. In looking at authors whose writings extend beyond a gender-based dialogue to include other issues such as race, politics, religion, and history, Valerie Orlando explores the rich and changing landscape of the literature and the culture, addresses the stereotypes that have defined the past, and navigates the space of the exiled, a space previously at the peripheries of Western discourse. Nomadic Voices of Exile will be useful to a variety of classrooms - women's studies, Middle East studies, Francophone literature, Third World women writers - and to anyone interested in postcolonial and postmodern theory and philosophy and the history of the Maghreb through literature.
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Booknews
Discussing authors who reside in northern Africa and those who have moved to France, Orlando (French, Illinois Wesleyan U.) examines how perceptions of the Maghrebian feminine identity have been affected by the postmodern sentiment since the end of French colonial rule. She addresses the changing nature of colonial and postcolonial literature in French and its thematic explorations of issues such as exile, race, identity, and culture. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)