A Riveting Tale of Identity and Power
In the teeming, chaotic city of N'Djamena, Chad, a child is born with two destinies. Adam Hawwa enters the world with both a penis and a vulva, an anomaly that defines his existence. Raised as a daughter by a loving mother but rejected by a father who wanted a son, Adam is caught between two warring identities. Navigating a city rife with danger, corruption, and superstition, Adam befriends a young refugee who becomes the narrator of this powerful tale. Their bond is born of a moment of cruelty and shame, and as it deepens, the narrator watches as Adam struggles to find a place in a world that sees him as a spectacle. Seeking freedom from constant scrutiny, Adam journeys to a mystical healer who promises to "make the choice" for him. He chooses to become a man, a decision that sets him on a breathtaking and brutal new path. He trades his fragile beauty for the harsh realities of military school, where he rises with dizzying speed. He is a hero, a husband, and a direct link to the elite, but his rise is built on the deliberate death of his former self. As a coup threatens to topple the government, the secrets Adam has buried refuse to stay hidden. His past, a burden he tried to shed, returns to confront him, forcing him to reckon with the man he chose to become. The Secret Declared History of Adam Hawwa is a sprawling epic of identity, war, and the search for oneself. It is a story of a city that devours its children and a country that cannot escape its history of violence. This is a novel that will challenge and move you, leaving you to question what it truly means to be a man, a woman, a friend, a hero-or a traitor. You will not forget the story of Adam Hawwa, a person who decided to declare his own history, even if it meant destroying everything he once was.
Rozzi Djiddi is a Chadian novelist and journalist. This is his fourth novel, following three previous works. He writes about social life and political changes in Chad.
He is the recipient of the Award for Excellence in Literature, the highest literary prize presented by the Ministry of Culture in Chad, in 2024.
He also won the Ghassan Kanafani Award in 2025.
