Standing Heavy

<p><b>"One of those rare, transformative novels"</b> KARIM MISKE<br> <b>"Funny and poignant"</b> TIFFANY TSAO, author of <i>The Majesties</i><br> <i><br> Initially a little intrigued, all babies eventually return the security guard's smile.<br> The security guard adores babies. Perhaps because babies do not shoplift.<br> Babies adore the security guard. Perhaps because he does not drag babies to the sales.</i><br> <br> The 1960s - Ferdinand arrives in Paris from Côte d'Ivoire, ready to take on the world and become a big somebody.<br> The 1990s - It is the Golden Age of immigration, and Ossiri and Kassoum navigate a Paris on the brink of momentous change.<br> The 2010s - In a Sephora on the Champs-Élysées, the all-seeing eyes of a security guard observes the habits of those who come to worship at this church to consumerism.<br> <br> Amidst the political bickering of the inhabitants of the Residence for Students from Côte d'Ivoire and the ever-changing landscape of French immigration policy, Ferdinand, Ossiri and Kassoum, two generations of Ivoirians, attempt to make their way as undocumented workers, taking shifts as security at a flour mill.<br> <br> Sharply satirical, political and poignant, <i>Standing Heavy</i> is a searingly witty deconstruction of colonial legacies and capitalist consumption, an unprecedented and unforgettable account of everything that passes under a security guard's gaze.<br> <br> <i>Translated from the French by Frank Wynne</i><br> <br> <b>"Inventive and very funny"</b> <i>Guardian</i><br> <b>"A compact, humane satire"</b> <i>Financial Times</i></p>