THE GLOBAL BESTSELLERWINNER OF FRANCE'S MOST PRESTIGIOUS AWARD, THE PRIX GONCOURTLONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS & THE DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD 

Paris, 2018. Diégane Latyr Faye, a young Senegalese writer, discovers a legendary book titled The Labyrinth of Inhumanity. It has an immediate hold over him.

No one knows what happened to its author, T.C. Elimane, who was accused of plagiarism, his reputation destroyed by the critics. Obsessed with discovering the truth about Elimane's disappearance, Faye weaves past and present, countries and continents, to follow the author's labyrinthine trail from Senegal to Argentina and France and to confront the great tragedies of history.

Will he get to the truth at the centre of the maze?

'The style as well as the sweep is Bolaño-esque' Observer‘As enthralling as it is thought-provoking’ Eric Nguyen ‘Terrific’ Daily Mail 'A masterpiece' The Times ‘A love letter to literature’ Leïla Slimani ‘A rollicking literary mystery … Propulsive’ New Yorker

Translated by Lara Vernaud

The Most Secret Memory of Men by Mohamed Mbougar Sarr Published:1 May 2025