Pure Men
A Novel
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- Encomenda
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- Data prevista: 2 de jun. de 2026
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- R$ 59,90
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- Encomenda
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- R$ 59,90
Descrição da editora
A young professor grapples with homophobia in Muslim Senegal in this searching, heart-wrenching novel from the National Book Award–longlisted author of The Most Secret Memory of Men.
A viral video makes the rounds in Dakar, showing an incensed crowd that gathers to dig up a grave and drag the corpse from holy ground. When Ndéné, a French literature teacher, watches it, he’s surprisingly affected. Who was this man, and what could he have done to deserve such a fate? The answer soon becomes clear: he was a “góor-jigéen,” one of the so-called “men-women,” the shameful label given to homosexuals, cross-dressers, or any man who lives outside the accepted norm.
Haunted by the video, Ndéné sets out to learn more. With the help of a friend who works in night life, he explores a hidden side of Dakar, away from the rigid Islam of his family and university. Although he feels a certain disgust for homosexuality, he’s moved by the suffering and resilience of the people he meets. But the further he goes, the more he doubts his own identity, threatening to become an object of suspicion and scorn himself.
A powerful, nuanced portrait of queerness in a conservative society, Pure Men asks the fundamental question of how to find the courage to be true to yourself, whatever the cost.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The narrator of the searching if hermetic latest from Sarr (The Most Secret Memory of Men) confronts the taboo against queerness in his native Senegal. Ndéné Gueye, a university professor, faces discipline after teaching a Verlaine poem banned due to the writer's homosexuality. Concurrently, Ndéné can't shake images from a viral video depicting an angry mob exhuming the body of a gay man (called a góor-jigéen or man-woman by locals) from holy ground. Despite his own reservations about homosexuality, Ndéné continues to think about the ferociousness of his fellow Muslims' actions in digging up the corpse. With the help of his lover, Rama, and her friend who works for Human Rights Watch, Ndéné attempts to learn more about the gay community. He connects with a celebrated cross-dressing parade host, as well as the mother of the dead man from the viral video. Rumors swirl that Ndéné is gay, driving a wedge between him and his sheikh father, and forcing him to come to terms with his sexuality. Sarr offers a bold challenge to Senegalese norms, but the novel often feels restrained by Ndéné's uncertainty. Readers will be left with much to ponder, but the author's other work is more satisfying.
