Elgas
Translated by: Lisa Sinclair 

A bold debut novel about male desire and alienation, and an exploration of the body as terrain of self-discovery

In Black Male, a Senegalese anthropologist living in France drifts through Paris in the aftermath of his PhD, caught between casual relationships, intellectual ambition, and a deepening sense of emotional distance. Estranged from Senegal yet unable to fully belong in France, he navigates desire, loneliness, and the racialized expectations placed on his body and identity.

A long-awaited visit from his mother forces him to confront family ties he has kept at arm’s length, while his relationships with women—both Black and white—bring questions of intimacy, power, and self-understanding into sharp focus. As love begins to feel possible, he must decide what kind of life, and what kind of man, he is willing to claim.

Intimate, incisive, and unsentimental, Black Male is a powerful debut novel about masculinity, migration, and the difficult work of learning to love.