ONLY THE LIE IS TRUE

Overview

ONLY THE LIE IS TRUE is the harrowing story of an immigrant and her struggle to reach freedom across the Mediterranean, far from the oppression and violenceof her home country, Nigeria. Moreover, the protagonist of this first novel, Nour, is in transition from male to female, one of many queer and transgendered people fleeing from certain imprisonment, torture, and possibly deathfrom a society where to claim such an identity is forbidden and illegal. This novel, based on a true story of a transgender immigrant, provides thechilling detail the realities of the immigrant detention camps, thesmugglers and their compatriots who prey on the naiveteof the refugees, and the complex network of trust and betrayal thatmakes up the world of the camp operations. Nour is a fiery protagonistwho must first join forces with the smuggling operation in order to obtain freedom, all while maintaining her tenuous disguise as a man.

Author Biography

Malik Sam (nom de plume)Malik Sam was born in France to a French mother and a Tunisian father, and grew up in Tunisia in a family steeped in poetic and musical culture. He returned to Paris as a young man to complete his higher education at the Sorbonne. After graduating with a degree in LEA English/Arabic. and fluency in four languages: Italian, French, English and Arabic he first worked as a translator, and subsequently joined the French rock band No Mans Land, as the group's new guitarist, singer and songwriter. After a successful career as a musician, Malik turned to writing fiction. Marjolijn de Jager is an award-winning translator and scholar of francophone and African literature. She is the English-language translator of Beyrouk's novel Pariahs, published in 2023 by Schaffner Press, as well as works by Yasmine Ghata, Emmanuel Dongala, Louis-PhilippeDalembert, and is a recipient of the Villa Albertine Award for excellence in translation.