International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) Longlist 2021.

The Life of Butterflies attempts to fill gaps left in the history books with its account of the 1972 attempted coup in Morocco and subsequent events. Set in Casablanca, it begins with Salem, a singer, being asked to read the official statement of the coup on the radio, after he had arrived to record a song. Events are divided according to the days of the week with each day given a special title. The novel explores how power works and offers in-depth psychological
portraits of its characters, whose destinies are interwoven.

Youssef Fadel is a novelist, playwright and screenwriter, born in Casablanca, Morocco, in 1949. During the so-called ‘Years of Lead’ in Morocco, he was imprisoned in the notorious Moulay al-Sheriff prison between 1974 and 1975. He has published a number of plays and novels.