Kuwaiti Novelist Taleb Al-Refai Received French Badge of Honor

The embassy of France in Kuwait honoured well-reputed Kuwaiti novelist Taleb Al-Refai with the rank of Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters on Monday for his efforts in building bridges between the two cultures.

Al-Refai has also received the badge of honour for French Literature and Arts and he has won the Kuwait National Award for Arts & Literature for The Scent of the Sea. 

During the honouring ceremony, French Ambassador Claire Le Flecher welcomed Al-Refai and his family and praised him for his works translated into French and his contributions to the cultural exchange between Kuwait and France. The ambassador also acknowledged that Al-Refai is the only Kuwaiti novelist to have his works translated into French and become a household name in France since 2016.

Al-Refai expressed his gratitude to the ambassador and the French Counselor for Cooperation and Cultural Affairs Benoit Cathala for bestowing him with this honour.

Al-Refai's novels were published by the French publishing house Actes Sud and they include Ici Meme, L’Ombre du Soleil, and Al-Najdi le Marin. 

Image source: Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Foundation website