"Slimani's searing nonfiction debut unearths the deepest and most intimate secrets of a group of women in a culture where sexual autonomy is punished by law." ―Newsweek

"Impassioned . . . a call-to-arms." ―Elle

"A compassionate and searing examination of women in Morocco and the Arab world." ―Ms.

"Vivid, at times unbearable testimonies . . . In an act of rare humility and generosity, Slimani offers [these women] what they've been deprived of: a space to tell their stories, to exist." --San Francisco Chronicle

"Infuriating, heartbreaking stories of the ways in which [women's] desires, happiness, and autonomy have been stunted by a system that denies their validity or very existence." --The New York Review of Books

"Potent . . . An ensemble portrait of women drawn together through the force of pressures they all face . . . Slimani keeps a light presence in the interviews, not unlike Svetlana Alexievich's conversations with former Soviet women soldiers." --John Freeman, Lit Hub

"Provocative and disturbing, fervent and moving." ―BookPage

"Graceful . . . Deft . . . Nuanced and sophisticated . . . An elegant, accentless translation . . . I'd read Slimani's 2016 Goncourt Prize-winning novel, The Perfect Nanny, experiencing her as a thrillingly precise writer, her observations so sharp they flensed away every flabby stereotype. . . . Slimani has brought that same quality of attention to bear on this book. . . . [She] gives these women their due." ―Lina Mounzer, The Baffler

"Open[s] the eyes of the reader to universal challenges for women . . . You'll learn something or feel something in each essay." ―Book Riot

"Powerful . . . Balancing potent anecdotal accounts with incisive cultural analysis, Slimani makes a persuasive case that breaking the silence around sexuality is essential to advancing Muslim women's social and economic rights. This eye-opening account strikes a resounding chord." ―Publishers Weekly

"A passionate, candid, and convincing narrative of unmasking and revelation." --Kirkus Reviews

"I salute Leila Slimani for writing this important, honest and brave book. . . . As a writer from a Turkish background, I am moved by Slimani's words. The women she talks to could just as well have been Lebanese, Syrian, Jordanian, Palestinian, Iranian, Turkish." ­--Elif Shafak, New Statesman

"Challenge[s] one of the Arab world's great taboos . . . [and] provides a rare, and perhaps unique, look into a patriarchal Arab society laden with hypocrisy." --The Times (U.K.)

"Slimani deserves credit for giving a voice to those for whom 'just being myself is activism.' '' --The Spectator

"A gripping portrait of a society riven by inner conflict, poised on a power-keg of desire." --The Sydney Morning Herald

"Sex and Lies does not lack for passion [and] raises legitimate questions." --Financial Times

"Well executed: the novelist paints vivid portraits of her interviewees." --Sunday Times (U.K.)

"An original book." --Cosmopolitan (U.K.)

"Searing . . . Page-turning." --AnOther Magazine

"Fascinating and surprising." --Elle (France)

"A nuanced and pragmatic reflection on the situation of women in Morocco and in the Arab-Muslim world." --L'Express