{"id":14175,"date":"2021-07-07T14:18:49","date_gmt":"2021-07-07T18:18:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/library.ryerson.ca\/asianheritage\/?page_id=14175"},"modified":"2025-12-30T08:49:29","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T13:49:29","slug":"alain-farah","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/authors\/alain-farah\/","title":{"rendered":"Alain Farah"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<p>Alain Farah is a writer and academic who was born in Montreal and continues to live there. He earned a Doctorate in literary studies from UQAM in 2009. He is an assistant professor at McGill University. Farah published his first novel, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/torontomu.primo.exlibrisgroup.com\/discovery\/fulldisplay?vid=01OCUL_TMU:01OCUL_TMU&amp;docid=alma991003842329708636\">Matamore no 29<\/a><\/em> (Le Quartanier) in 2008, followed by <em><a href=\"https:\/\/torontomu.primo.exlibrisgroup.com\/discovery\/fulldisplay?vid=01OCUL_TMU:01OCUL_TMU&amp;docid=alma991001678309708636\">Pourquoi Bologne<\/a><\/em> (Le Quartanier) in 2013. This is his only work that has been translated into English. Farah is currently writing a third novel that is inspired by his father\u2019s life as a Christian in the Middle East. In 2004 his debut poetry collection, <em>Quelque chose se d\u00e9tache du port <\/em>(Le Quartanier) was shortlisted for the Prix Emile Nelligan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Farah\u2019s novel <em><a href=\"https:\/\/torontomu.primo.exlibrisgroup.com\/discovery\/search?vid=01OCUL_TMU:01OCUL_TMU&amp;lang=en\">Mille secrets, mille dangers<\/a><\/em> (Le Quartanier, 2021) won the 2022 Governor General\u2019s Literary Award\u2013French fiction<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\"><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"215\" height=\"327\" data-src=\"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/files\/2025\/12\/Ravenscrag-book-cover.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21120 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/files\/2025\/12\/Ravenscrag-book-cover.jpg 215w, https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/files\/2025\/12\/Ravenscrag-book-cover-197x300.jpg 197w, https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/files\/2025\/12\/Ravenscrag-book-cover-99x150.jpg 99w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 215px) 100vw, 215px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 215px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 215\/327;\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Fiction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ravenscrag: A Novel<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Translated by Lazer Lederhendler.<br>Toronto: Arachnide, 2015.<br>Translation of: <em>Pourquoi Bologne<\/em>.<br><a href=\"https:\/\/torontomu.primo.exlibrisgroup.com\/discovery\/fulldisplay?vid=01OCUL_TMU:01OCUL_TMU&amp;docid=alma991006487529708636\">PS9611.A72 P6813 2015<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Publisher\u2019s Synopsis (From its website)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The writer Alain Farah is living in two time periods, and he feels out of place in both. At the opening of his story, we find ourselves at McGill in 1962 and 2012. But the real problem lies elsewhere: on campus, a psychiatrist is conducting dangerous and unethical experiments on his patients. The writer\u2019s uncle, Nab Safi, knows something about it, but soon he won\u2019t be around to tell his story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And so begins an investigation in which time, place, memory, and people collide. A mother in the Lebanese ghetto bets her son in a game of dice to settle her debts. Dinosaurs are resurrected. An odd gun will be used to determine the outcome for those who truly believe. A torn old photo and a gothic swimming pool lead to the disturbing depths of Ravenscrag, a mournful manor with 36 chambers\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Ravenscrag<\/em>&nbsp;is an intriguing and truly original blend of retro science fiction and autobiography. It\u2019s about resilience, literature as remedy, and ultimately, it\u2019s a novel about survival through storytelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Awards and Honours<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>2014 Governor General\u2019s Literary Award, Fiction, French language (Finalist for original edition, <em>Pourquoi Bologne<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Links<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Alain Farah <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcgill.ca\/litterature\/fr\/administration\/professeurs\/alain-farah\">faculty page<\/a> at McGill University<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Publisher <a href=\"https:\/\/houseofanansi.com\/\">House of Anansi Presss<\/a>, owner of the Arachnide imprint<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Alain Farah is a writer and academic who was born in Montreal and continues to live there. He earned a Doctorate in literary studies from UQAM in 2009. He is an assistant professor at McGill University. Farah published his first &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/authors\/alain-farah\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"parent":16,"menu_order":57,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-14175","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14175"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14175\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21121,"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14175\/revisions\/21121"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}