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Friday 7 July 2017

The Meursault Investigation

by   Kamel Daoud            





The discussion of this book was, as always, lively and stimulating.  Most of us enjoyed this book, but we all also emphasized that it necessitated re-reading Camus’s “The Stranger” (L’Etranger) to put it well into its context.

Kamel Daoud, an Algerian journalist, conceived the idea of writing a novel in response to “l’Etranger” but from the point of view of the unidentified Arab in Camus’s book.   He is given a name, a family, in particular a brother, who is the narrator of the story.  Every phase of “L’Etranger “ is reflected in turn in Daoud’s book, although Daoud develops Musa’s character and writes about his childhood in detail.  The relationship between the two brothers and their mother is also an important element.  Harun feels abandoned after the death of his brother and suffers from his mother’s neglect, as she is obsessed with her older son’s murder and pays little attention to her other son.   To avenge Musa, he in turn commits a murder.
The prose is very sober, in some ways reflecting that of Camus, although it is more expressive and even contains some humor.  Through the comments of Harun, the brother of Musa, the murdered Arab, much is revealed about contemporary life in Algeria.  The author is critical of the country’s excessive militaristic nationalism and its religious conservatism, and, again through the character of Harun, suggests that the future of Algeria need not be confined to a choice between one or the other.
The consensus was that “The Meursault Investigation” is definitely to be recommended, preferably after (re)reading “The Stranger".

Christine


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