Leila Slimani | I’ll Take the Fire
Fri 5 Jun 2026 | 6:00pm - 7:00pm
From the international bestselling author of Lullaby: this daring final novel of Leïla Slimani’s Country of Others trilogy is a haunting story of self-discovery, truth and power, sex and lies.
“Q: If your house was burning down, what would you take with you?
A: I’d take the fire.”
This is the story of two sisters, Mia and Inés. Two girls enveloped in love, trapped by the social conventions of Casablanca at the dawn of the twenty-first century and silenced by the political ‘truths’ that envelop their lives. Mia – the older sister, a warrior and a pariah, her sexuality a matter of scorn, a truth to be erased. Inés – the little sister, a woman trying to carve out an identity in a Paris that derides and erases her with no way back to Morocco, a homeland her father has warned her never to return for her own sake.
As these sisters struggle to find a home, a place of safety and love that holds rather than binds, this story – their lives, as framed by their mothers and grandmothers before them – will be a battle for their hearts and souls, and one they take on with every sinew of their being.
Join us for what promises to be a powerful conversation exploring politics and conflict in this electrifying novel.
___
Book a ticket for this event and the Tayari Jones event – happening on the same evening – and get a 25% discount on your order. Both tickets need to be booked at the same rate e.g. 2 x Full Price tickets or 2 x Concession tickets.
Venue: University Arms
Duration: 1 hour
Choose your tickets:
Please note: A £2 transaction fee will be added to your basket at the checkout. The £2 fee stays the same regardless of the number of tickets or events you are booking.
Author Biography
Leïla Slimani is the author of Adèle, Sex and Lies and Lullaby, which made Slimani the first Moroccan woman to win France ’s most prestigious literary prize, the Prix Goncourt. A journalist and frequent commentator on women’s and human rights, she is French president Emmanuel Macron’s personal representative for the promotion of the French language and culture. Born in Rabat, Morocco, in 1981, and a citizen of France, she divides her time between Paris, Portugal and international commitments that take her around the globe.
