Abstract

Contemporary migrant literature is strongly characterized by feelings of loss, absence and emptiness, which the act of writing helps to fill through the reconstruction of painful memories. Through the analysis of four contemporary novels, Les veilleurs de Sangomar by Fatou Diome, Rue des Pâquerettes by Mehdi Charef, Mémoires au soleil by Azouz Begag and Dieu, Allah, moi et les autres by Salim Bachi, this article proposes to reflect on the role of literature towards migration and on the importance of understanding suffering in order to penetrate more effectively into a phenomenon as complex as migration.