French-Moroccan writer Leïla Slimani on feminism & freedom
Summary
Terry Gross interviews novelist Leila Slimani about her new book, *I’ll Take the Fire*, which concludes a trilogy inspired by her mixed-race Moroccan-French family. Slimani discusses themes of identity, colonialism, and the criminalization of sexuality in Morocco, drawing on her parents’ experiences with government oppression and social hypocrisy. She also reflects on her journey from journalism to fiction, the influence of Simone de Beauvoir, and the challenges of balancing motherhood with her writing career.
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