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<p>1.&nbsp; Blended Stories.- 2. Azouz Begag: Questions of Home in a French Writer of Algerian Descent.- 3. Maryam-Madjidi: Multiple Belongings, Authenticity, and the Dilemmas of Self-Acceptance .- 4. Laura&nbsp;Alcoba’s Autofictional Memorials of Youth.- 5 Creating Places to Inhabit : "In-between" Self Expression in France.</p>

<p><strong>&nbsp;</strong>Dervila Cooke&nbsp;teaches in the School of Applied Language and Intercultural Studies at Dublin City University. She is the author of&nbsp;<em>Indigenous and Transcultural Narratives in Québec</em> (2024), <em>Present Pasts: Patrick Modiano's (Auto) Biographical Fictions</em>&nbsp;(2005) and editor of&nbsp;<em>New Work on Immigration and Identity in Contemporary France, Québec, and Ireland</em>&nbsp;(2016), and<em> </em>of <em>Modiano et l’image</em> (2012).</p>

<p>This book analyses transcultural works of life writing relating to youth and childhood by Azouz Begag, Maryam Madjidi, and Laura Alcoba, of Algerian, Iranian, and Argentinian heritage respectively. With a strong focus on societal issues in France from the turn of the millennium to early 2024, including the intersections between the postcolonial and the transcultural, it analyses the authors’ relationship with France and the “home” country, and the problematic pull of return. Each author uses life writing in a transpersonal manner, and expresses multiple cultural belongings. Begag displays playful yet compulsive self-reinvention, Madjidi uses autofiction in a search for authenticity, and Alcoba’s approach highlights the difficulties of dealing with traumatic personal and national memory. A substantial overview is given of each author’s œuvre, along with societal context for the country of origin or descent, followed by close textual analysis. This is a companion volume to Dervila Cooke’s 2024 monograph on Québec.</p>

<p>Dervila Cooke&nbsp;teaches in the School of Applied Language and Intercultural Studies at Dublin City University. She is the author of&nbsp;<em>Indigenous and Transcultural Narratives in Québec</em> (2024), <em>Present Pasts: Patrick Modiano's (Auto) Biographical Fictions</em>&nbsp;(2005) and editor of&nbsp;<em>New Work on Immigration and Identity in Contemporary France, Québec, and Ireland</em>&nbsp;(2016), and<em> </em>of <em>Modiano et l’image</em> (2012).</p>

Explores three adult creative practitioners of minority cultural heritage in France: Algerian, Iranian, and Argentinian Combines close textual discussion of literary production with socio-political perspectives Puts a special focus on childhood and youth to address periods of transition, self-questioning, and self-construction

<p>“This book is written with a very sure hand. The author is very engaged with her topic and digs deep into the chosen works. The writing is energetic and the political introductions are illuminating. The notes are extremely pertinent and well-informed. This follows her studies of Québec, including a major contribution in 2016 to comparative studies of Quebec and France, in editing and writing an introduction to a special issue of a journal on the topic.” (Sherry Simon, Concordia University, Canada)</p>

<p>“Dervila Cooke really touches a nerve with her analysis and the chosen corpus. Her choice of writers having themselves lived through experiences of cultural alienation, language loss and acquisition of new languages is enlightening.” (Peter Klaus, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany)</p>