diary of an exile

Amadou barry

julliard, 256 pages, 2025

√ In the footsteps of Tierno Monénembo, the striking first novel of a young Guinean author

√A caustic tale that confronts us with the daily lives of undocumented immigrants

√ A poignant story of friendship

Dramé dreamed of being a member of parliament, a professional footballer, or a simple stay-at-home dad... Nothing predestined this Guinean for exile, this great journey into the unknown, which a stroke of fate forced him to accomplish, alone.

Upon his arrival in the land of human rights, the undocumented Dramé hopes to find tranquility and respite, but what he experiences instead is precariousness, housing shortages, powerless charitable associations, and the indifference of the authorities.

He ends up on the outskirts of the capital among a crowd of exiles of all nationalities who found refuge in a tunnel encampment. Among them is Fodié, an erudite Ivorian with a passion for books, philosopher in his spare time, who agrees to share his tent with Dramé. This is the beginning of a brotherly complicity, in a daily life of violence and destitution, which is brutally interrupted by Fodié's disappearance. Left to his own devices, Dramé decides to write his friend's story.

In this striking first novel that signals the birth of a distinctive writing voice, Amadou Barry takes an unvarnished look at the daily condition of those who are constantly stigmatized and made invisible under the label “migrant.” Through the tribulations of Dramé and Fodié, his brother-in-misfortune, Barry restores to them their full humanity as exiles, while at the same time challenging the reader to walk in their footsteps.

Amadou Barry is born in Guinea. Diary of an Exile is his first novel.