Self-Worth

True love or easy money - which would you choose?

Fresh from graduating with her master's in philosophy, Anna is shocked when a career counsellor tells her she has 'no special skills'. Desperate for work and financial independence, she accepts a thankless job at a TV talk show. She might be making minimum wage, but at least she has her boyfriend Lulu, the love of her life, to come home to at night.

But one day Lulu starts throwing up cash - thousands of euros in just a few days - hurtling the twenty-something couple into unforeseen wealth. Having spent their lives proudly rejecting consumer society, they suddenly find themselves rich, and Anna is loving every minute of it- she gets a designer bag, they vacation in Tahiti, they throw wild parties in their fancy new apartment.

As Anna grows accustomed to a life of luxury, Lulu's health suffers, and she wonders- what would be worse, losing him or losing the money?

In Self-Worth newcomer Emma Tholozan delivers a raw, brutally funny portrait of a generation without ideals.

About the Author

Emma Tholozan is a writer and editor based in Paris, France. Her interests include literature and cinema. After studying philosophy, her first novel was published in 2024, a funny, wacky fable about the power of money and social success. It won the Prix des Catherinettes and the Prix du roman TMV.

Emma Ramadan is an educator and literary translator from French. She was awarded the PEN Translation Prize for Abdellah Taia's A Country for Dying, and has also received the Albertine Prize, two NEA Fellowships, and a Fulbright. Her other translations include Maud Ventura's My Husband, Anne Garreta's Sphinx, and Virginie Despentes's Pretty Things.