Description
In this autobiographical coming of age novel, 17-year-old Rim is caught smoking out her window in her home in Marrakesh, Morocco. This minor transgression unleashes the fury of her mother who flies into a rage and demands that Rim complete a gynecological test certifying her virginity. So begins a nuanced journey into the tangled web of a patriarchal society in which various generations of women seem to complicitly preserve the status quo. Ultimately, it is Rim who breaks the cycle of dysfunction, rebels against tradition, confronts betrayal from the women closest to her, and dares to be her true self.
Rim Battal is a poet, journalist, and artist. She is the author of multiple poetry collections in French, including Eau de bain, Vingt poèmes et des poussières, Latex, and Pommes Girl. Her novel, Je me regarderai dans les yeux (which Galiot Press will be publishing in English this November as I’ll Look Myself in the Eyes), won the 2025 prix de la littérature arabe des lycéens and was a finalist for the main Arab literature prize in France. Battal splits her time between Paris and Rabat.
Liza Tripp is a translator based in Centerport, NY and Rockport, MA. In addition to I’ll Look Myself in the Eyes, she has also translated Hélène Hérault’s One Way (Silent Clamor Press) and received a 2026 Villa Albertine translation grant for Rim Battal’s Eau de Bain. Liza has also translated numerous non-fiction books for publishers including Rizzoli, Assouline, and Schiffer Books. Her poetry translations have appeared in the Cordite Poetry Review and the International Poetry Review.
ADVANCE PRAISE:
“This gem of a novel reveals with dazzling prose the many ways patriarchy can cause betrayal from those whose protection we actually need the most. With bite and humor, Battal explores how the wounds our parents inflict often derive from their own fragility and trauma and how with time our anger can transform into grace. A deeply powerful story.” – Marjan Kamali, New York Times best selling author of The Lion Women of Tehran
