Fatou Diome was born in Niodior on the island of the same name in the Sine-Saloum Delta. She was raised by her grandmother and went to school where she learned French and became passionate about French literature. At the age of 13 she left Niodior and continued her education in M'Bour. Later she moved to Dakar to study at the university, supporting herself by working as a housekeeper.

In 1990 she married a Frenchman and moved to France. Rejected by his family she divorces two years later. In 1994 Fatou moves to Strasbourg to study at the University of Strasbourg. She currently works on her Ph.D. in French language and literature. The title of her Ph.D. thesis is Le Voyage, les échanges et la formation dans l'?uvre littéraire et cinématographique de Ousmane Sembène.

Fatou Diome published a collection of short stories, La Préférence nationale in 2001. Her first novel, The Belly of the Atlantic () became a bestseller in France and is published in English by Serpent's Tail. Her first novel was partly autobiographical and is about Salie, a Senegalese immigrant living in Paris, and her younger brother Madicke, who stayed behind in Senegal. After years of struggle Salie has finally arrived and settled in France. Her younger brother dreams of following her to France and to become a successful football player. The Belly of the Atlantic was translated into English, German and Spanish. Her second novel Kétala was published in 2006 in France.In her work Fatou Diome explores France and Africa, and the relationship between the two countries.

Her style is influenced by the traditional oral literature of Africa. Her language is authentic and vivid and traces a portrait of the difficulties of integrating in France as an immigrant, mixed with nostalgia and memories of a childhood in Senegal.

• . Flammarion, March 10, 2006. ISBN 9782080689931
• . Anne Carrière, August 20, 2003. ISBN 9782843372384
• . Serpent's Tail, September 4, 2006. ISBN 9781852429034
• . , March 16, 2001. ISBN 9782708707221

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Interviews

• Interview with Tatou Diome at Grioo
• Interview with Diome by Cikuru Batumike veröffentlicht bei Amina
• Interview with Diome by Wanda Nicot about Ketala at Amina

Reviews

• Review od Fatous book Le ventre de l’Atlantique by Bi Kacou Parfait Diandue: LE VENTRE DE L’ATLANTIQUE, METAPHORE AQUATIQUE D’UN MIRAGE : IDEAL BRISE DE L’AILLEURS? in http://ethiopiques.refer.sn/
• Cheick SAKHO: CITOYENNETE UNIVERSELLE : LA QUETE OBSEDANTE D’UNE IDENTITE DANS LE VENTRE DE L’ATLANTIQUE

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