One for the reading list

Today in Salon there is a brief article about a book that apparently took the Parisian literary set by storm last year. The novel, by Faiza Guene, has now been translated into English under the title "Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow." It takes place not in Paris proper, but in what it is now popular to call "Le grand Paris," the suburbs. The protagonist, a teenage girl whose parents are Moroccan, must cope with the various problems of the suburban housing projects: Lack of economic opportunity, a sense of not being welcomed in French culture, crime, drugs, etc.

I'm too tired to deliver myself of a big long post about the cités and the banlieue but here's the link:

http://www.salon.com/books/review/2006/07/26/guene/