pbShortlisted for the 2023 International Booker PrizebppbA funny, fast-paced, and poignant take on Franco-African history, as told through the eyes of three African security guards in Paris. bppAll over the city, they are watching Black men paid to stand guard, invisible among the wealthy flneurs and yet the only ones who truly see. From Les Grands Moulins to a Sephora on the Champs-lyses, Ferdinand, Ossiri, and Kassoum find their way as undocumented workers amidst political infighting and the ever-changing landscape of immigration policy. Fast-paced and funny, poignant and sharply satirical, emStanding Heavyem is a searing deconstruction of colonial legacies and capitalist consumption and an unforgettable account of everything that passes under the security guards' all-seeing eyes.brp