A reflection on the family and immigration: the Franco-Lebanese journalist Sabyl Ghoussoub won, Thursday, November 24, the Goncourt des lycéens 2022 for his novel "Beyrouth-sur-Seine" (ed. Stock).

"The bad high school student that I was should thank the wonderful high school students that you are. This prize is a huge honor", reacted by videoconference Sabyl Ghoussoub, shortly after the announcement of the prize.

"This book is a tribute to my parents, to the exiles of the war, I think a lot of the living. It's a beautiful personal story that goes far beyond the story of my parents and I will never thank you enough for this pick," he added.

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In "Beyrouth-sur-Seine", his second novel, the Franco-Lebanese columnist and journalist offers a reflection on the family and immigration, by questioning his parents who came to settle in 1975 in Paris when the war was going to ravage their country.

After two rounds of voting, the prestigious prize was crowned by 7 votes Sabyl Ghoussoub, against 5 for the philosopher Nathan Devers and his novel "The artificial links" (ed. Albin Michel).

After more than two months of diligent reading of the 15 works in the selection of the prestigious Goncourt prize, the jury of the 35th edition of the Goncourt des lycéens decided on Thursday during final deliberations the four finalist novels.

55 high schools mobilized in the region and abroad

Among the last four nominees was Pascale Robert-Diard, legal columnist for the newspaper Le Monde and author of "La petite menteuse" (ed. L'Iconoclaste) whose novel had been selected for the Grand Prix du roman de l' French Academy.

Her book tells the story of a middle school student who faces the legal consequences of her accusations of rape and sexual assault.

Another nominee: the Swiss journalist Sarah Jollien-Fardel for "Her favorite" (ed. Sabine Wespieser) who is interested in the attachment to a land, intra-family violence and the difficulty of exile.

Brigitte Giraud's novel "Live fast" (ed. Flammarion), crowned by the Goncourt 2022, had not been selected.

Goncourt's little brother, the Goncourt des lycéens, created in Rennes in 1988 and organized in particular by the Ministry of National Education, takes place each year from September to November and allows some 2,000 pupils from general, technological, vocational and agriculture, from the second to the BTS, to discover contemporary literature and to arouse a taste for reading.

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This year, the prize mobilized 55 high schools in the regions and abroad (United States, Canada, Lebanon).

Seven meetings between students and authors have been held in recent weeks in the regions.

Very prescriptive in terms of sales, the jury's choice is an opportunity for high school students to offer their view of the novels of the new school year.

In 2021, the Goncourt high school students had been awarded to Clara Dupont-Monod for "Adapt" (ed. Stock), a novel on disability, also winner of the Femina 2021 prize.

With AFP

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