"A man without a title," the story of Kabyle immigrant father

Leaving everything behind, arriving in Europe at the bottom of the social ladder and becoming characters in their novels: the immigrant fathers of writers become the protagonists of the literary season. The father of Xavier Le Clerc appears on the cover of Le Clerc's novel, published on September 1 by Gallimard under the name "A man without a title"

"My father is the archetype of these men, and I share this in the book, who never rebelled. These are men who have remained discreet and, moreover, who have been trained to do so. So if it's about rebelling, that's really not his place. He is someone with humility, with acceptance. And I think that to emancipate oneself from one's condition, one must first become aware of one's condition," 

In the book, the writer has expressed in every detail the essence of walking and this becomes one character of his immigrant father who moved to each and every place in the basic modest way, by foot.

"Before leaving, the walk to survive is the story of his life. He walked all his life, all his childhood, to harvest crops… and the question of walking is a theme that comes up in the book. We walk to fetch water, we walk to survive, we walk to find work. And so crossing the Mediterranean is nothing more than a walk," said Xavier Le Clerc, a writer.

The book further entails life as a prisoner and what one should do in case of being held in captivity. It advises how smart you should be to get out of any serious problem.

"Personally, I think it's in the name of integrity that you shouldn't hesitate to be a traitor at birth, because birth is above all a jailer. And I think you have to be smarter than your jailer to get out of prison. So if it is, indeed, to question everything to escape yes, very well. Afterward, who decides on this notion of treachery? You know, there will always be judgments," said Xavier Le Clerc, a writer.

Kabylearrived in Normandy in 1962 and died in 2020. The book is a tribute to his peers and is meant to inspire his countrymen, writers' children and many other souls.