“Not One of Them”: Exile, Colonial Memory, and Identity in Banine’s <i>Parisian Days</i>

Abstract This article examines the memoir Parisian Days by Azerbaijani French writer Banine, situating it within discourses of exile, gender, and postcolonial identity. Writing from the geographic and cultural periphery of the former Russian Empire, Banine offers a unique lens on the Russian émigré experience in interwar Paris. Her reflections reveal the persistent imperial hierarchies that shape the diaspora and foreground the complex negotiations of identity undertaken by women from colonized regions. This study argues that Banine’s work introduces a counter-memory rooted in cultural hybridity, gendered displacement, and colonial critique. The author crafts a voice that resists both nostalgic imperialism and total assimilation and establishes exile as a site of critical agency and transformation.