The Clown by Amarnath Hosany hit bookstores last month. Co-winner of the 2025 Jean Fanchette Prize with *The Gaze of the Slave Ancestor* by Nicolas Couronne, this unassuming yet powerful novel tells a story of “everyday racism,” in which many residents of our “ pigmentocracy ” might recognize themselves… Dominique Bellier
Racism is anything but ordinary, even if it sometimes tends to become trivialized because it is so common. Despite its absurdity, it destroys lives, shatters self-esteem, and, in the long run, harms its perpetrators just as much as its victims. Amarnath Hosany’s short novel tells the story of a grandmother, Rita, and her granddaughter, Elsa, both of whom are mistreated—both within their family and by society at large—because their skin is supposedly “too dark”!
The wisdom of the narrator, Rita, is both touching and compelling. When one door closes, there’s no point in insisting: others will open. The day her little girl is forced to wear a costume by kids at school, Rita makes the best decision of her life. She cuts ties with her cowardly son—who is married to her racist daughter-in-law—and leaves for her hometown with Elsa, whom they have always neglected. In Chamarel, the little girl blossoms, and her grandmother rediscovers joy and serenity.
Amarnath Hosany has a gift for highlighting humanity’s flaws without vehemence, in a simple, direct, and profound style, while always offering reasons for hope. Rita and Elsa discover solidarity, kindness, and compassion. Far from humiliation, one rediscovers her social life, and the other finally fulfills a cherished dream. This book shows that reading and imagination save lives, and that creativity can mend broken hearts and wounded souls. Without making a point of it, this text chronicles senseless bourgeois norms and the invisibilization of women of color.
