Pure Men // A Novel

A young professor grapples with homophobia in Muslim Senegal in this searching, heart-wrenching novel from the National Book Awardlonglisted author ofThe Most Secret Memory of Men.

A viral video makes the rounds in Dakar, showing an incensed crowd that gathers to dig up a grave and drag the corpse from holy ground. When Ndn, a French literature teacher, watches it, hes surprisingly affected. Who was this man, and what could he have done to deserve such a fate? The answer soon becomes clear: he was a gor-jigen, one of the so-called men-women, the shameful label given to homosexuals, cross-dressers, or any man who lives outside the accepted norm.

Haunted by the video, Ndn sets out to learn more. With the help of a friend who works in night life, he explores a hidden side of Dakar, away from the rigid Islam of his family and university. Although he feels a certain disgust for homosexuality, hes moved by the suffering and resilience of the people he meets. But the further he goes, the more he doubts his own identity, threatening to become an object of suspicion and scorn himself.

A powerful, nuanced portrait of queerness in a conservative society,Pure Menasks the fundamental question of how to find the courage to be true to yourself, whatever the cost.

Mohamed Mbougar Sarrwas born in Dakar in 1990. He studied literature and philosophy at the cole des Hautes tudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris.Brotherhood, his first novel, won the Grand Prix du Roman Mtis, the Prix Ahmadou Kourouma, and the French Voices Grand Prize. The president of Senegal named him a Chevalier of the National Order of Merit. He won the 2021 Goncourt Prize for his novelThe Most Secret Memory of Men(Other Press, 2023), becoming the first sub-Saharan African to do so.

Lara Vergnaudis a translator of prose, creative nonfiction, and scholarly works from the French. She is the recipient of two PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grants and a French Voices Grand Prize, and has been nominated for the National Translation Award. She lives in Washington, DC.

• Publisher: Other Press
• Publish Date: June 02, 2026
• Pages: 192
• Language: English
• Type: Paperback
• EAN/UPC: 9781635424706
• Dimensions: 8.0 X 5.3 X 0.0 inches | 0.5 pounds
• BISAC Categories: Literary FictionLGBTQ+, Mystery, Thrillers & Crime