Yasmina "Nina" Bouraoui (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

نينا بو راوي, born 1967) is a French novelist and songwriter born in Rennes,

Ille-et-Vilaine Ille-et-Vilaine (; br, Il-ha-Gwilen) is a department of France, located in the region of Brittany in the northwest of the country. It is named after the two rivers of the Ille and the Vilaine. It had a population of 1,079,498 in 2019.

to an Algerian father from the town of

Jijel Jijel ( ar, جيجل), the classical Igilgili, is the capital of Jijel Province in north-eastern Algeria. It is flanked by the Mediterranean Sea in the region of Corniche Jijelienne and had a population of 131,513 in 2008. Jijel is the administr ...

and a French mother. She spent the first fourteen years of her life in Algiers, then

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich ...

and Abu Dhabi. She now lives in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. Her novels are mostly written in the first person and, with the exception of ''Avant les hommes'', have been said by the author to be works of "auto-fiction". This is even the case for ''Le Bal des Murènes'', which, like ''Avant les hommes'', has a male narrator. Since writing her first novel in 1991, Bouraoui has affirmed the influence of

Marguerite Duras Marguerite Germaine Marie Donnadieu (, 4 April 1914 – 3 March 1996), known as Marguerite Duras (), was a French novelist, playwright, screenwriter, essayist, and experimental filmmaker. Her script for the film '' Hiroshima mon amour'' (1959) e ...

in her work, although the life narratives and works many other artists are also to be found in her novels (and songs). This is particularly true of ''Mes Mauvaises Pensées'' which bears the imprint of Hervé Guibert,

Annie Ernaux Annie Thérèse Blanche Ernaux (; born 1 September 1940) is a French writer, professor of literature and Nobel laureate. Her literary work, mostly autobiographical, maintains close links with sociology. Ernaux was awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize ...

, David Lynch,

Eileen Gray Eileen Gray (born Kathleen Eileen Moray Smith; 9 August 187831 October 1976) was an Irish architect and furniture designer who became a pioneer of the Modern Movement in architecture. Over her career, she was associated with many notable Euro ...

, and

Violette Leduc Violette Leduc (7 April 1907 – 28 May 1972) was a French writer. Early life and education She was born in Arras, Pas de Calais, France, on 7 April 1907. She was the illegitimate daughter of a servant girl, Berthe Leduc, and André Debaralle ...

amongst others. Questions of identity, desire, memory, writing, childhood and

celebrity culture Celebrity culture is a high-volume exposure to celebrities' personal lives on a global scale. It is inherently tied to consumer interests where celebrities transform their fame to become product brands. Whereas a culture can usually be physically ...

are some of the major themes of her work.

Works

*' (1991,

Prix du Livre Inter The Prix du Livre Inter is a prize for best French novel of the year. It is awarded by the radio channel France Inter France Inter () is a major French public radio channel and part of Radio France. It is a " generalist" station, aiming to prov ...

1991), translated as ''Forbidden Vision'' (1999) *''Poing mort'' (1992) *''Le Bal des murènes'' (1996) *''L'Âge blessé'' (1998) *''Le Jour du séisme'' (1999) *''Garçon manqué'' (2000), translated as ''Tomboy'' (2007) *''La Vie heureuse'' (2002) *''Poupée Bella'' (2004) *''Mes mauvaises pensées'' (2005,

Prix Renaudot The Prix Théophraste-Renaudot or Prix Renaudot () is a French literary award. History The prize was created in 1926 by ten art critics awaiting the results of deliberation of the jury of the Prix Goncourt. While not officially related to the ...

) *''Avant les hommes'' (2007) *''Appelez-moi par mon prénom'' (2008) *''Nos baisers sont des adieux'' (2010) *''Sauvage'' (2011) *''Standard'' (2014) *''Beaux rivages'' (2016) *''Tous les hommes désirent naturellement savoir'' (2018) *''Otages'' (2020) Prix Anaïs Nin 2020 In 2007, she wrote two songs for

Céline Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

titled "

Immensité "Immensité" (French for "Immensity") is the second single from Celine Dion's 2007 French-language album, ''D'elles''. It premiered on the radio in France and Quebec on 23 April 2007 and was released as a music download on 6 May 2007. However, a ...

" and "Les paradis", set to music respectively by Jacques Veneruso and Gildas Arzel. These songs were featured on Céline Dion's album, ''

D'elles ''D'elles'' (meaning ''About Them'' or ''From Them'') is a thirteenth French-language and twenty-second studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released by Columbia Records on 18 May 2007. It is a concept album which features thirteen songs w ...

'', which came out 21 May 2007.

Works

References

External links