"All Men Want to Know" by Nina Bouraoui

"I'm borne along by beauty, poetry, the sublime order of nature, this is my religion: the wind in the trees, the colour of the leaves as they turn, waves foaming on the shore, the sun slipping away and rising on another continent, the stars, the rivers and springs, the earth moving, its fiery core that I sense beneath my bare feet, the flowers that taste of fruit when I chew them — I draw strength from all this, my elixir of eternal life."

Themes: Nature; Sexuality; Mother-Daughter Relationship; Race; Nationality; Ethnicity; Identity; Gender; Writing; Music

Discussion Questions:

1. "All Men Want to Know" is divided into sections on Bouraoui's childhood in Algeria and young adulthood in France. Discuss the following quote: "France is an outfit I wear; Algeria is my skin, exposed to sun and storms" (p.28).

2. How else does Bouraoui discuss and compare her dual identities as an Algerian and as a Frenchwoman?

3. How does nature play a role in Bouraoui's life? In her writing?

4. Violence is a recurrent theme throughout the book. How and when does Bouraoui discuss violence?

5. Why does Bouraoui turn to writing during her young adulthood in Paris? What about the act is necessary for her?

6. Discuss Bouraoui's relationship to her mother, during both her childhood and young adulthood.

7. What does Bouraoui say about gender in this book? How does her view of gender change from her childhood to her young adulthood?