Raised in Diourbel, Senegal and later studying in France, Sarr is the author of four novels as well as a number of award-winning short stories.

He moved to France to study in CPGE (classe préparatoire aux grandes écoles) at the lycée Pierre-d'Ailly [fr] in Compiègne.

[6] His debut novel, Terre ceinte (2015), describes life in a fictional Sahelian village under the control of Islamist jihadi militias.

[10] His second novel, Silence du chœur (2017), a portrait of the day-to-day life of African migrants in Sicily, received the prix littérature monde at the Étonnants Voyageurs [fr] festival in Saint-Malo.

[13] His third novel, De purs hommes (2018), deals with the prejudice and violence surrounding homosexuality in Senegal, where it is still illegal to be openly gay.