Kamel Daoud

A New York Times Notable Book of 2015 -- Michiko Kakutani, The Top Books of 2015, New York Times -- TIME Magazine Top Ten Books of 2015 -- Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year -- Financial Times Best Books of the Year "A tour-de-force reimagining of Camus's The Stranger, from the point of view of the mute Arab victims." --The New Yorker He was the brother of "the Arab" killed by the infamous Meursault, the antihero of Camus's classic novel. Seventy years after that event, Harun, who has lived since childhood in the shadow of his sibling's memory, refuses to let him remain anonymous: he gives his brother a story and a name--Musa--and describes the events that led to Musa's casual murder on a dazzlingly sunny beach. In a bar in Oran, night after night, he ruminates on his solitude, on his broken heart, on his anger with men desperate for a god, and on his disarray when faced with a country that has so disappointed him. A stranger among his own people, he wants to be granted, finally, the right to die. The Stranger is of course central to Daoud's story, in which he both endorses and criticizes one of the most famous novels in the world. A worthy complement to its great predecessor, The Meursault Investigation is not only a profound meditation on Arab identity and the disastrous effects of colonialism in Algeria, but also a stunning work of literature in its own right, told in a unique and affecting voice.

The Meursault Investigation

Sammy

4.7777—i am truly amazed at how thought-out and clever daoud's FIRST book is. just a heads-up: you may need some historical background for "meursault, contre-enquête" to make sense, though daoud's prose and use of language clearly indicates that he is attempting to mock or unveil some aspects of camus' "the stranger"—which seems to be the purpose of the story. 

in the book, the main character (harun) attempts to tell the story of his deceased brother musa—a story that camus failed to even acknowledge in "the stranger." daoud somewhat suggests that camus' choice reveals more about his privilege and ignorance than it does about his philosophical awareness. 

now, from a philosophical point of view, i still believe "the stranger" captures the idea of absurdity perfectly, and when we ignore the historical background of the place and time in which this story takes place, it seems harmless (arguably) and it innocently deals with the idea of absurdism. 

it is easy to think of daoud's work as inconsistent. but, while there are many contradictions made throughout "the meursault investigation," these seem to hold a very important purpose: to force the reader to question, not the credibility of daoud as a writer, but the integrity and views of camus as an algerian with first-hand experience on the cruelty and dismissiveness that threatened arab identity at the time. 

this book truly made made me rethink the many ways in which i interpreted camus' book and… i'm glad it did.

A New York Times Notable Book of 2015 “A tour-de-force reimagining of Camus’s The Stranger, from the point of view of the mute Arab victims.” —The New Yorker He was the brother of “the Arab” killed by the infamous Meursault, the antihero of Camus’s classic novel. Seventy years after that event, Harun, who has lived since childhood in the shadow of his sibling’s memory, refuses to let him remain anonymous: he gives his brother a story and a name—Musa—and describes the events that led to Musa’s casual murder on a dazzlingly sunny beach. In a bar in Oran, night after night, he ruminates on his solitude, on his broken heart, on his anger with men desperate for a god, and on his disarray when faced with a country that has so disappointed him. A stranger among his own people, he wants to be granted, finally, the right to die. The Stranger is of course central to Daoud’s story, in which he both endorses and criticizes one of the most famous novels in the world. A worthy complement to its great predecessor, The Meursault Investigation is not only a profound meditation on Arab identity and the disastrous effects of colonialism in Algeria, but also a stunning work of literature in its own right, told in a unique and affecting voice.

The Meursault Investigation

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