Cape Angela

Ines Abassi

"A novel about the continuous escape from destiny. The first escape of the protagonist, Nadia, was when her mother and siblings fled with her from a merciless father. Her second escape was after settling in Bizerte, when masked men broke into her apartment, pointing their weapons at her chest, so she sought refuge in France. There, Nadia was haunted by the constant urge to escape from a French husband who loved her but was troubled. His participation in the Afghan war plunged him into violent fits, from which she was not spared.
From whom do we actually flee? From what? And to where? Is there even a safe place on this earth?
Her brother, Nawfal, fled, dreaming of new beginnings in Italy, but the unforgiving sea swallowed him. Her sister, Linda, who failed at singing, dreamed of wealth, and the glittering cities swallowed her.
The novel revolves around the bitter reality that drives unsafe migrations and shows that the West is not always a paradise – a refuge from the hell of Eastern crises, as it is also immersed in its own crises. It also sheds light on irregular migration and the history of immigrants to the West, on racism in the East and West, and on self-discovery and the discovery of the other, and it is not without the magic of delightful childhood moments.

Ines Abassi – Tunisian poet, writer, and translator (born in Tunis, 1982). She won the award for Best Tunisian Poetry Book in 2004 for "Secrets of the Wind," the Danish Institute in Damascus award for her story "War of 2012," the "CREDIF" award in 2007 for her poetry book "The Blind Man's Archive," and the Comar award in 2018 for "Bourguiba's House." Her stories and poems have been translated into French, English, Korean, Swedish, Danish, and Spanish.

"Every story by Abassi is ready to be a screenplay for a film..." Ibrahim Al-Hajri – Al-Jazeera.net"