Sex and Lies

From the prize winning and bestselling author of Lullaby and Adele: a fascinating and witty collection of essays on the lives of women grappling with sexual politics in a deeply conservative culture.

In these essays looking at sexual politics in Morocco, Leila Slimani gives voice to young Moroccan women who are grappling with a conservative Arab culture that at once condemns and commodifies sex. In a country where the law punishes and outlaws all forms of sex outside marriage, as well as homosexuality and prostitution, women have only two options for their sexual identities: virgin or wife.

Sex and Lies is an essential confrontation with Morocco's intimate demons and a vibrant appeal for the universal freedom to be, to love and to desire.

ISBN: 9780571377763 | Published: 30 May 2023 | Paperback | 176 pages