Maalouf, Amin
Entry updated 12 September 2022. Tagged: Author.
(1949- ) Lebanese author, in France from 1976; best known for historical novels. In his Near Future sf tale, Premier siècle après Béatrice (1992: trans Dorothy S Bair as The First Century After Beatrice 1993), an entomologist discovers that a readily available bean contains an easily synthesized Drug that will guarantee male children. The First World nations secretly administer the drug to the Third World, suffering from Overpopulation till the Disaster strikes: cultural disarray, economic collapse. The Satirical elements in the novel (see Gender; Imperialism; Sex; Women in SF) are conveyed with surprising subtlety. Well into the twenty-first century, as the tale ends in moments of melancholy contemplation, the End of the World may be nigh. [JC]
Amin Maalouf
born Beirut, Lebanon: 25 February 1949
works
- Premier siècle après Béatrice (Paris: Grasset and Fasquelle, 1992) [binding unknown/]
- The First Century After Beatrice (London: Quartet Books, 1993) [trans by Dorothy S Bair of the above: hb/Catherine Hopkins]
links
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