Blind Spot

Set in the entertainment world in France, this searing memoir explores the realities of being a mixed or biracial French citizen.In Blind Spot, Myriam Tadessé exposes the difficulty, even the impossibility, for France to truly understand and celebrate the lived realities of mixed or biracial French citizens. What the French word métis—which translates to “half-breed” or “mixed-race”—hides is how central the notion of race actually is in a society that claims to repudiate it. The French film and theater world, in which Tadessé has made her career, appears unable to confront the individuality of the performers. They are required to correspond to categories—often based on race—that don’t allow for biracial identities. This classification not only contradicts France’s asserted ideals but also views as anomalies those who defy ethno-racial assumptions. Drawing on her personal experiences as a biracial Ethiopian-French woman and her family history, Tadessé explores the realities of life for mixed-race individuals in France through her searing and honest memoir. 

“"With damning acuity, Blind Spot exposes the cracks in the rose-tinted promise of French ”

"Myriam Tadessé’s memoir combines formal innovation with a candid look back on her life and the harrowing experiences she’s had with discrimination in her chosen field—and in French society as a whole. Blind Spot feels like a distillation of its author’s life, and a powerful testament to her day-to-day reality." Words Without Borders
"With damning acuity, Blind Spot exposes the cracks in the rose-tinted promise of French égalité, and reveals the darker underside of a country that, for all its Belle reputation, remains in thrall to the racial fixations of its colonial past." European Literature Network

Born in Ethiopia, Myriam Tadessé has lived in Paris since 1978. An actress and stage director, she has taught theater and dance, written and directed documentaries, and published a novel, L’instant d’un regard. Gila Walker is the translator of more than a hundred books and articles from French.

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