The Meursault Investigation

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Description

He was the brother of 'the Arab' killed by the infamous Meursault, the antihero of Camus's classic novel. Angry at the world and his own unending solitude, he resolves to bring his brother out of obscurity by giving him a name - Musa - and a voice, and by describing the events that led to his senseless murder on a dazzling Algerian beach. 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.

Reviews

'A tour-de-force.' The New Yorker '[Kamel Daoud's] book, The Meursault Investigation, is a retelling of Albert Camus's classic The Stranger, from an Algerian perspective. Within its 160 pages, Mr. gives voice to the brother of the nameless Arab murder victim who is shot five times on a beach in Algiers by the antihero, Meursault.' New York Times 'Humour erupts in The Meusrsault Investigation every time there is tragedy, and this recipe for the Algerian absurd gives Daoud's book its literary sting.' The Nation 'Clever... Daoud is in equal measure a thoughtful and provocative writer' Times Literary Supplement '[An] extraordinary novel.' London Review of Books 'A superb novel ... In the future, The Outsider and The Meursault Investigation will be read side by side.' Le Monde des Livres 'Very beautiful writing, original, located between suppressed anger and bursts of elation.' Les Echos 'A breathtaking and effectively realized novel. The Outsider becomes a palindrome ... The Meursault investigation approaches the incredible, in that it reverses the perspective and point of view not without an emphatic ferociousness, all while playing with the prose and perspective of The Outsider.' La Croix 'A remarkable homage to its model.' Le Nouvel Observateur 'An intense and surprising story.' La Montagne

Author Bio

Kamel Daoud is an Algerian journalist based in Oran, where he writes for the Quotidien d'Oran - the third largest French- language Algerian newspaper. He contributes a weekly column to Le Point, and his articles have appeared in Liberation, Le Monde, Courrier International, and are regularly reprinted around the world. International rights to the novel have been sold in twenty countries.