Exil et identite dans l'oeuvre de Kenizé Mourad
Exile and Identity in Kenizé Mourad’s work

Summary/Abstract: During long years Kenizé Mourad worked as a journalist at the Nouvel Observateur. In 1987, she became worldwide famous with her first novel entitled Regards from the Dead Princess. This is the story of Princess Selma, granddaughter of the Ottoman Sultan Mourad V. She died in exile in Paris. In fact Princess Selma is Kenizé Mourad’s own mother. In her second novel The Garden of Badalpur, she writes her own story, her childhood in Paris and her discovery of India and her father, the former Rajah of Badalpur. With her third book Our Sacred Land, Kenizé Mourad returns as a journalist and listens to the voice of ordinary people from Israel and Palestine. She tries not to judge but to understand the two parts. One can detach three themes dominating these books: exile, identity and sense of belonging. The exile of the Ottoman family and the exile of the Palestinian people. The identity quest of Zahr (The Garden of Badalpur) and Kenize Mourad herself. The sense of belonging of two communities to “the sacred land”.

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