A young Senegalese writer unknown to the public was on Wednesday awarded the Prix Goncourt, France’s leading literature prize, for a novel exploring the destiny of a cursed African author.
Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, 31, is the first sub-Saharan African to win the literary award.
“I feel so much joy,” he said at the upscale Parisian restaurant where the prizes are traditionally announced.
“I haven’t yet found the words to say,” he added.
The winning novel, titled The Most Secret Memory of Men (La plus secrete memoire des homes), is his fifth, and lauded for its mysterious characters, quality of style and writing.
“With this young