In a February event, the Bryn Mawr French department presented Nathalie Azoulai in conversation with Jennifer Tamas, the wife of Professor Rudy Le Menthéour. Azoulai is a French writer and translator who has written twelve novels, with the most recent being Toutes les vies de Théo (The Many Lives of Theo).
Azoulai and Tamas are friends, and it showed in their conversation. They began by discussing their common experiences in the intersection of Jewish identity, Egyptian family, and as children of immigrants. Azoulai recounted that, as a child, excelling in French and literature became a way to repair her family history, a theme that is reflected in the children she writes. She also noted the significance of her peaceful childhood in the tenements and the broader immigrant experience on her perspective on the literary scene.
The two went on to discuss the differences between stereotypes surrounding Ashkenazi and Sapphardic Jews, which bled into their conversation surrounding encryption. Azoulai highlighted the difference between Jewish literature in America versus in Europe; she described that in Europe, Jewish authors hid their identities so as to avoid censorship and antisemitism, whereas in America, transparent identity is socially important. She highlighted the case of Bambi by Felix Sutton, which is an encrypted fable about the discrimination faced by Jews.
In addition, they discussed Azoulai’s new book Toutes les vies de Théo (The Many Lives of Theo), which explores the kaleidoscope of perspectives following the events of Oct. 7. It does so by following the collapse of a mixed non-Jewish and Jewish relationship over their differing outlooks on the events of Oct. 7 and those of the people who they are surrounded by. Azoulai reported that the book has been very well received across a variety of viewpoints.
