Three Strong Women by Marie Ndiaye (Book Analysis)

This practical and insightful reading guide offers a complete summary and analysis of Three Strong Women by Marie NDiaye. It provides a thorough exploration of the book’s plot, characters and main themes, including women, race and family. The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time.

This clear and detailed 46-page reading guide is structured as follows:

• Biography of Marie NDiaye
• Presentation of Three Strong Women
• Summary of Three Strong Women
• Character study
  • The first story
  • The second story
  • The third story
• Analysis of Three Strong Women
  • A novel or a collection of short stories?
  • Three strong woman and three cowardly men
  • The breakdown of the family
  • Senegal: the novel’s background

About Three Strong Women 

Three Strong Women was first published in 2009 to overwhelming praise. It is a three-part story which tells the tales of three different women, all of whom show strength and courage in the face of hardship, difficulty, and cowardice. Although the three stories do not appear to be connected, there are several elements which link them together to form a coherent whole. Three Strong Women is the novel which made Marie NDiaye famous, and it also won the Prix Goncourt in 2009.

About Marie NDiaye

Marie NDiaye is a French writer of African descent. She has written dozens of works and has the distinction of being the only living female writer to have written a play which is now part of the Comédie française. Although her father is Senegalese, NDiaye was born and grew up in France, and considers herself French. However, the land of her ancestors has clearly had an effect on her work, as can be seen from the setting and characters in Three Strong Women.