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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Meursault contre enquête a été présenté par l'éditeur et les médias comme une tentative de décolonisation de L'Etranger d'Albert Camus, roman dans lequel le personnage principal, Meursault, Français d'Algérie, assassine un "Arabe" qui ne sera jamais nommé, et ceci sans véritable raison. Et bien La promesse n'est pas tenue. Quelques formulations bien senties mais plus de recherche de joliesse que de fond, donc cela ne suffit pas a éviter l'ennui et le sentiment d'artificialité. Il s'agit moins d'humaniser l'Arabe sans nom que de construire "habilement" une trajectoire miroir de Meursault en la personne du narrateur, Haroun, frère de la victime Moussa, ceci sans remettre le moins du monde en cause l'admiration béate pour l'oeuvre de Camus. Où est la décolonisation littéraire promise lorsque c'est la langue du colonisateur, "bien vacant", qui semble être la seule voie de l'émancipation? Par ailleurs on sacrifie la crédibilité de l'intrigue pour pousser l'exercice de style jusqu'à l'extrême. Meursault et Haroun ont finalement la même philosophie de vie et s'enferrent dans le refus de "jouer" le jeu, sauf que la prose de Daoud est beaucoup plus prétentieuse. Pour ne rien gâcher, Haroun hait sa mère puis toutes les femmes, et tout est bon pour faire une métaphore crasse genrée au féminin ce qui finit par être fatigant. La deuxième partie du roman n'est pas inintéressante mais il me laisse tout de même un goût amer. Bref, surcôté.
A fascinating rebuttal to The Stranger from the point of view of the family of "the Arab." It addressed many of the points I was dissatisfied with in the Stranger (the lack of humanity given to the Arab victim and the Arabs in general, the bizarre sympathy many readers feel with Meursault, putting his hurt feelings over those of the murder victim, etc.) Camus' use of language to create sympathy is contrasted with the actual nihilist content of The Stranger. Daoud creates a sense of Algerian life and political history from the mid 20th century to now that I was interested to learn about.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Algeria
I read this book for the challenge recommended by group members as a 'hand in hand' read with the Stranger ( which I have earlier reviewed).
Here our narrator Harun gives a name- Musa to his Brother 'the arab' killed by Meursault in Camus's 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.
The Mersault Investigation deals with big issues around identity, individual and political,
as well as addressing the complexity of French colonial rule in Algiers and the fight for Independence.
It's a powerful flip side of the story that needed to be written and Daoud tells it well.
Harun feels a stranger amongst his people and tells the tale that has haunted his family before he dies.
I read this book for the challenge recommended by group members as a 'hand in hand' read with the Stranger ( which I have earlier reviewed).
Here our narrator Harun gives a name- Musa to his Brother 'the arab' killed by Meursault in Camus's 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.
The Mersault Investigation deals with big issues around identity, individual and political,
as well as addressing the complexity of French colonial rule in Algiers and the fight for Independence.
It's a powerful flip side of the story that needed to be written and Daoud tells it well.
Harun feels a stranger amongst his people and tells the tale that has haunted his family before he dies.
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It's an incredibly dense read for only 140 pages. The narrator: drunk, full of lies, and starving for attention is an interesting character. And the deep references to L'Etranger, colonial life and Algeria is both really great and for folks like me who haven't studied up, kind of intimidating.
The Meursault Investigation is a rich book, and its complexity and unsettledness is a feature, not a bug. It's not a pleasant or easy read, but it is a fascinating and atmospheric one. The simple lack of knot-tying is remarkable and would probably frustrate a ton of people. But it's richness is worth it, and the way the book queries history through its unsettled nature is very rewarding.
I read it on my commute, which is probably unfair: it ain't much of a commute read. It's a really great book that needs a moment or two to meditate on. I didn't really have it when I read the book, but you should give it when you do.
The Meursault Investigation is a rich book, and its complexity and unsettledness is a feature, not a bug. It's not a pleasant or easy read, but it is a fascinating and atmospheric one. The simple lack of knot-tying is remarkable and would probably frustrate a ton of people. But it's richness is worth it, and the way the book queries history through its unsettled nature is very rewarding.
I read it on my commute, which is probably unfair: it ain't much of a commute read. It's a really great book that needs a moment or two to meditate on. I didn't really have it when I read the book, but you should give it when you do.
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated