Mounsi (born 1951) is a French novelist and singer, born in

Kabylie Kabylia or Kabylie (; in Kabyle language, Kabyle: Tamurt n leqbayel; in Tifinagh: ⵜⴰⵎⵓⵔⵜ ⵏ ⵍⴻⵇⴱⴰⵢⴻⵍ; ), meaning "Land of the Tribes" is a mountainous coastal region in northern Algeria and the homeland of the Kaby ...

, Algeria. Aged seven, his father brought him to live in France, growing up in the red-belt suburb of

Nanterre Nanterre (; ) is the prefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located some northwest of the centre of Paris. In 2018, the commune had a population of 96,807. The eastern part of Nanterre, b ...

in Paris. Petty crime saw him in borstal, where he discovered his voice as an author after reading the poetry of

François Villon François Villon (; Modern French: ; ; – after 1463) is the best known French poet of the Late Middle Ages. He was involved in criminal behavior and had multiple encounters with law enforcement authorities. Villon wrote about some of these e ...

. His only work published in English translation is ''The Demented Dance'' (Black Amber, 2003), which was originally published in France in 1986. The book draws heavily on Mounsi's growing up amidst petty crime in the red-belt suburbs and could be seen as a companion piece for films like ''

La Haine (, ; released in the United States as ''Hate'') is a 1995 French social thriller film written, co-edited, and directed by Mathieu Kassovitz. Starring Vincent Cassel, Hubert Koundé and Saïd Taghmaoui, the film chronicles a day and night in ...

''. The book was released to substantial acclaim in the UK and like his other French novels, is the recipient of a number of literary prizes. In 2004, he was presented with the inaugural 3AM Good Sex Prize at the

Stuckism International Gallery The Stuckism International Gallery was the gallery of the Stuckism, Stuckist art movement. It was open from 2002 to 2005 in Shoreditch, and was run by Charles Thomson (artist), Charles Thomson, the co-founder of Stuckism. It was launched by a p ...

in London.Stevens, Andrew
"A riot of our own"
'' 3:AM Magazine'', 5 July 2004. Retrieved 6 February 2008. His other books include: ''La Cendre des Villes'' awarded the Lauréat de la Bourse du

Centre national du livre The Centre national du livre (CNL) is a French établissement public à caractère administratif. The CNL is placed under the administrative supervision of the French Ministry of Culture and Communication (, ). Its vocation and mission is to s ...

, ''Le Voyage des Ames'' awarded the Prix de l'Astrolabe-étonnants voyageurs, ''Territoire d'outre-ville'' and ''Les sauvageons expliqués aux fils des ministres''. Dubbed the 'Boris Vian of the Inner City' by ''Le Nouvel Observateur'', Mounsi has also written a number of plays and recorded three albums for the French label Disques Motors.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mounsi 1951 births Living people French novelists French male novelists