Tahar Ben Jelloun

Date of Birth:

01-Oct-1944

Nationality:

France

Profession:

Tahar Ben Jelloun is one of the better known French writers from Morocco. The highlight of his writing career came when he published his Nobel Prize winning novel L’Enfant de Sable (The Sand Child). He also received Prix Goncourt for his work in this novel. Although his mother tongue is Arabic, most of his work is in French. Jelloun’s other notable works include ‘The Sacred Night’, ‘With Downcast Eyes’ and ‘This Blinding Absence of Light’. He also received International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award for his phenomenal work in Cette aveuglante absence de lumière (This Blinding Absence of Light). Jelloun also highlighted the atrocities Muslim women face due to rampant racism and orthodox Muslim ideas in his 1996 novel Les raisins de la galère (The Fruits of Hard Work). He has honored with Cross of Grand Officer of the Légion d'honneur from Nicolas Sarkozy. We have curated his quotes and thoughts from his writings, observations, views, interviews etc. Here are few excerpts from some of the greatest quotes from this Nobel laureate.

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Tahar Ben Jelloun

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QUOTES BY Tahar Jelloun

Don't worry, life is good despite everything!

To lead a country, you must periodically hold a national consultation in which people representing different programmes can make a bid for power.

A modern civilization is only possible when it is accepted that singular beings exist and express themselves freely.

People must insist on the right to say no, to be alone, to stand out from the herd. Creative artists can say all this in their own way and in their own field, by hard, rigorous work.

I am glad I have found a readership, but one can't write only what is likely to sell. A writer is not a shopkeeper.

Our first love is always our last.

It is through accepting other people in our own countries that we shall come to respect our neighbours and be respected in our turn.

L'�me humaine ne s'explique pas par la psychologie. Elle ne peut �tre expliqu�e, elle est � vivre.

At 21, I discovered repression and injustice. The army would shoot students with real bullets.

I liked Sartre's views but not his writing.

I write about wounds, the eternal treasons of life. It's not very funny, but it's sincere. My commitment is to sincerity.