What I Know About You

By (author): Éric Chacour

Translated by: Pablo Strauss

CBC BOOKS CANADIAN FICTION BOOKS TO READ IN FALL 2024
WINNER OF THE 2023 PRIX DES LIBRAIRES DE FRANCE 2024
WINNER OF THE 2024 PRIX DES CINQ CONTINENTS

A heartbreaking tale of a family and an impossible love, torn apart by secrets and traditions in late-twentieth-century Cairo.

In a tight-knit Levantine Christian family in 1960s Cairo, Tarek’s entire life is written in advance. He’ll be a doctor like his father, marry, and have children. Under the watchful eye of the family’s strong women, he starts to do just that – until a patient’s son, Ali, enters his life and turns it upside down. The two men’s unsayable relationship sparks a series of events as dramatic as the Six-Day War and assassination of President Anwar Sadat playing out in the background.

The turn of the millennium finds Tarek living as a doctor in Montreal. Someone is writing about him and to him, piecing together a past he wants only to forget. But who is the writer of this tale? And will Tarek figure it out in time? 

From Cairo’s grand boulevards and hidden alleys to Montreal’s grim winter, from the reign of Nasser to the early 2000s, What I Know About You tells the heartbreaking story of a family torn apart by an epic love.

A bestseller in its original Quebec edition, and the recipient of several awards, including the Prix Femina des Lycéens, What I Know About You is poised to be an international sensation.

“This novel is a searing love story that moves between Egypt and Montréal, that shifts between hearts, highlighting the sacrifices the characters feel they have to make for the ones they love. Romantic, surprising, mesmerizing, and so devastating, What I Know About You examines the terrible costs of family secrets and toxic shame.” – Suzette Mayr, author of The Sleeping Car Porter

AUTHOR

Pablo Strauss

Pablo Strauss was born in Williams Lake, grew up in Victoria, and has lived in Québec City for over a decade. He has translated several works of Québec fiction and published shorter translations and reviews in Granta, Geist, and The Montreal Review of Books.

AUTHOR

Éric Chacour

Born in Montreal to Egyptian parents, Éric Chacour has shared his life between France and Quebec. A graduate in applied economics and international relations, he now works in the financial sector in Montreal. What I Know About You is his first novel.



Reviews

“ltpgtA splendid exercise in melancholy and heartbreak with highly empathetic characters Chacours first novel is beautifully written and superbly translated from the French by Pablo Strauss It is not to be missed ltbgt Michael Cart ltigtBooklistltigt STARRED ReviewltbgtltpgtltpgtThe slowburn story of Tarek a Levantine Christian doctor whose life seems prescribed for him in every matter even loveChacours exceptional restraint in divulging information lets the tension build carrying the book into the revelation of who is writing Tareks story All the authors formal risks result in wellearned rewards ltbgtltigtKirkusltigt STARRED ReviewltbgtltpgtltpgtThis striking debut is a vivid novel about what honesty can cost you even when almost everything is left unsaid ltbgtKeith Mosman PowellsltbgtltpgtltpgtAstute prose that reveals as much through words as it does through silences ltigtWhat I Know About Youltigt is a heartrending novel in which unanswered questions and unvoiced feelings take on a life of their ownltbgt Eileen Gonzalez ltigtForeword ReviewsltigtltbgtltpgtltpgtA novel of secrets kept and vows broken among the members of a worldly Levantine Christian family in Cairo clinging to tradition amid radical societal change from the 1960s to the 21st century That larger story is fascinating but it takes a back seat to the even more intriguing twists and turns within the household The sense of intimacy ric Chacour and his translator Pablo Strauss have achieved with ltigtWhat I Know About Youltigt is astonishing ltbgt James Crossley Leviathan BookstoreltbgtltpgtltpgtA magnificent debut novel about family secrets and loves that endure long after their breaking point ltbgtLActualitltbgtltpgtltp dirltrgtA writer who charts his own course polishing each sentence until it conveys the totality of the observable world from the smallest gesture and look to the displacements contained in our life choices A story of love memory and devastation ltbgtJury statement Prix des cinq continents winnerltbgtltpgtltpgtric Chacours writing is poetic and precise A wonderful new voice and one of 2023s most remarkable books ltbgtMali Navia ltigtChatelaineltigtltbgtltpgtltp dirltrgtAn intimate conversation fraught with things left unsaid and secrets revealed told with a delicate understatement Masterful ltbgtShirley Saver Jury Chair 2023 Premire Plume awardltbgtltpgtltp dirltrgtCertain novels leave an indelible mark this is one of them ltbgtDominique Lemieux ltigtLes librairesltigtltbgtltpgtltp dirltrgtSo powerfully resonant and ingeniously constructed it is hard to believe this is a first novel ltbgtLa Harvey ltigtLe soleilltigtltbgtltpgtltp dirltrgtA beautiful debut about family secrets and loves that last far past their breaking point ltbgtJulie Roy ltigtLActualitltigtltbgtltpgtltp dirltrgtA finely honed debut with an intricate original architecture ltbgtPhilippe Villard ltigtTribune de Genveltigtltbgtltpgtltp dirltrgtA story of forbidden love deep roots and escaping them leavened with stylistic brio and profundity ltbgtOdile Tremblay ltigtLe Devoirltigtltbgtltpgtltp dirltrgtA debut that already feels like a classic ltbgtMohammed Assaoui ltigtLe Figaroltigtltbgtltpgtltp dirltrgtRazorsharp yet sensual prose plumbs the depths of a man torn between two worlds and two eras for a vibrant portrait of a changing society Dazzling ltbgtAnneFrdrique HbertDolbec ltigtLe DevoirltigtltbgtltpgtltpgtA sensual intricate political first novel ltbgtVirginie BlochLainltigtLibrationltigtltbgtltpgtltpgtA sublime story of absence and reconciliation ltbgtSandrine Bajos ltigtLe ParisienltigtltbgtltpgtltpgtThe writing is silken suggestive skillful and touching ltbgtSylvain Sarrazinltigt La Presseltigtltbgtltpgt”

Awards

  • Prix des Cinq Continents 2023, Winner
  • Premire Plume award 2023, Winner
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    Details

    Dimensions:

    224 Pages
    8.25in * 5.25in * 0.7in
    0.78lb

    Published:

    September 24, 2024

    Publisher:

    Coach House Books

    ISBN:

    9781552454855

    Book Subjects:

    FICTION / LGBTQ+ / Gay

    Featured In:

    All Books

    Language:

    eng

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