Christine and Her Life of Adventures in the Islands of the Moon The Struggle of a Woman at the Frontiers of the Ocean

The "Islands of the Moon" --- that is how the Comoros archipelago was named by ancient Arab navigators, fascinated by these distant lands bathed in light. It is in this sumptuous yet tormented setting that Christine, the first female customs service chief in Mayotte, arrives in the 1990s.
Facing resistance from a male-dominated environment, the challenges of illegal immigration, and the separatist crisis in the Comoros during Anjouan's secession, she will need to show courage and perseverance to impose her vision and renew her department.
Amid the solitude of a woman in a man's world, hierarchical pressure, and political stakes, she must find allies on the island to accomplish her mission. Her struggle takes place within the broader historical context of Mayotte's path to becoming a French department, officially achieved in 2011.
During the referendum of December 22, 1974, while the three islands, Grande-Comore, Mohéli, and Anjouan voted for independence and created the Comorien State, Mayotte made a historic choice: that of remaining part of French Republic.

Behind this vote was an extraordinary and peaceful mobilization led by women --- the "Bouénis" --- central figures of the traditional society, who according to their expression, refused the "sirens of freedom" and fought for Mayotte to stay French.

These militants, called "Sorodas," soldiers of Mayotte, were fighters and adherents of non-violence.
They would rush toward male politicians, the heralds of independence, and tickle them until they admitted publicly that their children's future lay in remaining with France.
The movement of the "Chatouilleuses," whose original yet formidable method left a significant mark on history, managed to rally the entire population of Mayotte.
Younoussa Bamana, a visionary leader and futur president of the General Council, carried this popular will with strength:

" We chose a great nation: France, and we want to become department to be free."

The choice of democracy and republican equality was, for him and for the Bouénis, fundamental.
This novel is also their memory, their strength, and their struggle.
The sirens of independence promised liberty and sovereignty. They often led instead to poverty and disillusionment. When Anjouan seceded, seeking reattachment to France, its population--- abandoned by the Comorien central government based in Grande-Comore faced neglect and misery. Mayotte became a symbol of survival and hope: one could eat with our hunger, give birth safely, and find medical care. This context is at the heart of the novel.
Christine, a civil servant from mainland France, is a witness to this historical divide, caught between humanity, duty, and sovereignty.
"Christine and Her Life of Adventures in the Islands of the Moon" is a work of fiction at the crossroads of politics, human adventure, and historical memory.
In the Islands of the Moon, the sirens still sing.
But Christine chose not to be lulled by them.
She fights, she watches, she acts.

At the heart of this novel is a conviction: democracy is never guaranteed. It must build, day after day through the choices we make, the resistance we upfold, and the compromises we refuse. As Pericles once said, there is no happiness without freedom, nor freedom without courage.
This novel is inspired by real events.