Standing Heavy – Gauz’

The immigrant workforce that has sustained almost every European metropolis for the past half-century often forms a separate layer of society, operating in plain sight but also unseen. The African security guards of Paris may be easily overlooked but their keen eyes are watching everything, from the shoplifters to the shopaholics.

Drawing on his own experiences, Gauz’ blends the lives of four Ivorians in Paris with the observations of the legion of bouncers, security guards and nightwatchmen who police its streets, shops and workplaces. The author has described his novel as ‘reverse ethnography’ and it casts an absurdist, satirical eye on consumerist culture and colonialism.