Award-winning writer Mathias Énard is one of the most important voices in contemporary French literature. Énard studied Arabic and Persian and grapples with Europe's dark facets and unacknowledged longings in his stylistically flawless novels. Compass, which garnered Énard the renowned Prix Goncourt in 2015, traces the intimate connection between Western humanities and art history, and Islamic philosophy and culture. In one sentence that's over 500 pages long, Zone tells of the recent European past as a cascade of consequences of wars and conflicts.
Énard lives and works in Barcelona, where he teaches Arabic at the Universitat Autònoma. His latest publications include a poetry collection titled Dernière communication à la société proustienne de Barcelone (Final message to the Proust Society of Barcelona) and Prendre refuge (Take Refuge), a graphic novel created in collaboration with illustrator Zeina Abirached.
