French Lover

A woman’s search for love and independence in a strange city far away from home. French Lover is the story of Nilanjana a young Bengali woman from Kolkata who moves to Paris after her marriage to Kishanlal a restaurant owner. Kishanlal’s luxurious apartment seems to Nilanjana to be a gilded cage and she feels stifled within its friendless confines. Her marriage where she functions as little more than a housekeeper and a sex object is far from fulfilling and Nilanjana looks desperately for a way out of the boredom and depression that threaten to engulf her life. It is at this point that she meets Benoir Dupont a blond blue-eyed handsome Frenchman and is swept off her feet. Benoir introduces Nilanjana to the streets the cafes and the art galleries of Paris. In her passionate sexually liberating relationship with Benoir she finally begins to have an inkling of her own desires. The relationship ends when Nilanjana realizes that Benoir’s first priority is himself and not the woman he loves and that her need for him has ended. But her road to self-discovery has only just begun. Bold in concept and powerful in execution French Lover is a fascinating glimpse into the workings of a woman’s mind as she struggles to come to terms with her identity in a hostile world. About the Author Taslima Nasrin an eminent writer and secular humanist is known for her powerful writings on womens rights and unflinching criticism of religious fundamentalism despite forced banishment and multiple fatwas calling for her death. She has been living in exile since 1994.