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Meursault, contre-enquête
Meursault, contre-enquête | Kamel Daoud
26 posts | 37 read | 43 to read
Cet homme qui soliloque dans un bar, nuit après nuit, c’est le frère de l’Arabe tué par un certain Meursault dans un célèbre roman du XXe siècle. Soixante-dix ans après les faits, rage et frustration inentamées, le vieillard rend un nom et une histoire au mort resté "l'Arabe" jusqu'ici. Un roman profond sur les héritages qui conditionnent le présent et sur le pouvoir exceptionnel de la littérature pour dire le réel. Voir Kamel Daoud parle de son livre "Meursault, contre-enquête"
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BarbaraBB
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#BookReport 05/21

Not a spectacular week. I enjoyed The Boy who Harnessed the Wind, the others were #moremehthanyeah. But the good news is I‘m having To Paradise in progress!

TrishB I hope you love it â™¥ï¸ 3y
Cinfhen I‘m looking forward to your thoughts on To Paradise 3y
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Hooked_on_books I‘m impatiently waiting for my copy of In Paradise to arrive. It was supposed to be here yesterday but is stuck somewhere in the US postal service. I‘m not happy. 😑 3y
Ruthiella I‘ll add my voice to the chorus! I‘m also excited about trying To Paradise. 3y
Megabooks Definitely can‘t wait to discuss To Paradise!! 3y
68 likes6 comments
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BarbaraBB
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Mehso-so

This book is a counterpart to Camus' The Stranger. Told by the brother of Moussa, the Arab man murdered in that book, this is a reflection on #Algerian identity and the consequences of French colonization.

#19822022 #2013 #ReadingAfrica2022 🇩🇿

Librarybelle Interesting! I‘ve not read The Stranger. Maybe someday… 3y
mhillis Oh I like that cover more than the one I have!! 3y
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BarbaraBB
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#WeeklyForecast 05/22

I have the tagged book in progress for #ReadingAfrica2022 . On audio I started The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind - also for Africa. I have plannend to start Pan next but man, To Paradise seems determined to ruin my planning and keeps calling my name!

TrishB It calls loud! 3y
Megabooks So want to hear your thought on TP! 3y
62 likes2 comments
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WriterAtHeart
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Pickpick

After reading "The Stranger" by Camus, I knew I needed to read Daoud's "The Mersault Investigation" to hear the story of the unnamed victim from the original text. We are now given a name, Musa, and his brother's plight of trying to figure out what happened to his brother.

Still in the realm of the absurd, you are forced to contend with another unreliable narrator, navigating Daoud's message within his narrator's story.

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Chavelafab
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Pickpick

70 years later a response to Camus from the other Algerian side of the story. I connected more with the main protagonist and the themes. The book is a dialogue with L‘Etranger - with humour and respect. It highlights Camus‘ blind spots, borrowing and twisting the plot, offering different view points, meeting and disagreeing. Daoud writes beautifully. Amazing.

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RebeccaH
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Mehso-so

By the time I got to the end of this, I was into it, but the first half dragged. It‘s basically a novella that should have been a shorter novella. And I‘ll admit, I just wasn‘t in the mood for it.

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RebeccaH
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Up next for my mystery book group.

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OtherPress
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The author of The Meursault Investigation is back!

Chelleo Welcome to Litsy! Hope these #Litsytips by @RaimeyGallant http://bit.ly/litsytips and #LitsyHowTo videos: goo.gl/UrCpoU are helpful. There‘s so many fun things to do: book exchanges, buddy reads, photo challenges and more! Check out @LitsyHappenings for details. #LitsyWelcomeWagon
6y
RaimeyGallant Welcome! 6y
Eggs Welcome to Litsy 🤗 6y
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LitsyWelcomeWagon Welcome! 6y
Lel2403 Welcome to Litsy 6y
OtherPress Thanks, we are very excited to finally be here! @LitsyWelcomeWagon @Lel2403 6y
StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego Welcome to Litsy 📖💙 6y
DebinHawaii Welcome to Litsy!! 🎉📚🎉Hope you enjoy it here! 6y
9 likes3 stack adds10 comments
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LiterRohde
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This book has been on my radar since it came out. However, I‘m really nervous to read it. I love the The Stranger and reader reviews are all over the place.

#ReadingResolutions | 14: #BookSequel

📷: Made with PhotoGrid & Google Books

Aimeesue I have that one on my TBR pile, but I was thinking I'd better reread The Stranger first. Then again, maybe not. I look forward to your review! 6y
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samesfoley
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Mehso-so

The three star rating is based on my personal enjoyment of the read, not an objective scale. I would 100% recommend this book to anyone who has read The Stranger by Camus. It provides a fascinating contrast and goes to show that there are many sides to every story. I struggled a bit with the meandering, rambling way it was written, but it served a purpose and it was well-done overall. Rating: â­ï¸â­ï¸â­ï¸

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Ubookquitous
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A classic - the story of a foreigner in a different culture who commits a murder of a nameless "Arab", and a recent, brilliant novel of the the brother of the murdered "Arab" - subjective truth from #unreliablenarrators #maybookflowers

@RealLifeReading

Sace I tried the audiobook of the Mersault Investigation, but didn't like it. I wonder if I would like the book better. 8y
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Hobbinol
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Pickpick

If you've read The Stranger, you recognize the name Meursault as Camus' existential protagonist who's anything but a stranger at this point. Daoud creates the perfect Algerian foil to Meursault, echoing the storyline in brilliant counterpoint. In fact, Camus' novel is often mentioned here and becomes at once a reason to avenge AND to inspire this tale. Except this narrator's soul is that of a true poet and belies the coldness therein.

shawnmooney Great review! 8y
Louise Brilliant book! I've been recommending it to fans of Camus ever since reading it. It has so many layers to it! 8y
Hobbinol @shawnmooney Merci mille fois! 8y
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Hobbinol @Louise You're absolutely right (as usual): there's a strategic weaving and superimposing of levels: psychological and philosophical (as one might expect), racial and sociological, cultural and linguistic, familial and sexual, political and emotional, repulsion and attraction, really I could bore you for hours about how incessantly clever and well thought out this book really was. Thank you for commenting and sorry I'm so long winded in response! 8y
Hobbinol Oh I couldn't fit in an important level of identity and anonymity! 8y
Louise Not to mention fiction and meta fiction. . . ! It's the kind of book that invites long pondering and conversation! 📚🤓👠8y
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Hobbinol
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"Love is kissing someone, sharing their saliva, and going back all the way to the obscure memory of your own birth." Kamel Daoud, The Meursault Investigation

shawnmooney Oh wow, now I need to read this book! I thought I could skip it because of my traumatic memories of having to study L'Etranger in French at university, but I guess I cannot. :) 8y
Hobbinol @shawnmooney I promise you will not be traumatized while reading this thoughtful book. I think we all have books that were forced upon us and left dark mug rings on what are really good books. But by today's standards, there really is much to dislike in The Stranger: animal cruelty, misogyny, racism... um...just stick with this book instead 😉. 8y
shawnmooney @Hobbinol I shall do just that! 8y
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Hobbinol
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#readingoutdoors "This story takes place somewhere in someone's head, in mine and in your's and in the heads of people like you. In a sort of beyond." Since I'm more urban than outdoorsy, I snapped this photo of a man reading a book's spine as I passed Lefkowitz The Tailor's shop when I was downtown this morning and that's the best I can do! #somethingforseptember #windowshopping

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Hobbinol
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"I slept again, for a very long time, while unseen trees tried to walk, flailing about with their big branches in the effort to free their black, fragrant trunks. My ear was glued to the ground of their struggle. "

Louise This was such a brilliant book! I reread The Stranger before reading it so that I'd get all the references, yet I found so many layers to it that it would certainly warrant further reading and study. How did you like it? 8y
Hobbinol It took my breath away. I thought it was brilliant too. Maybe I'll have time on Sunday to put how I feel about it into 451 characters. Right now I'm still milking it for quotes, @Louise ! 8y
Louise @Hobbinol Milk away! There are many Litsy-worthy quotes in there! Gosh, I just got the significance of being given 451 characters! How cool (or hot, as the case may be) is that?! 🤓✨ 8y
Hobbinol I don't eat a bowl of bradberries every morning either @Louise ! 8y
Louise Hahaha! 😆😂😆😂 8y
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Hobbinol
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"I'm sure you've never heard of this gentleman [Sadhu Amar Bharati]. He's an Indian who claims to have kept his right hand raised toward the sky for 38 years. As a result, his arm's nothing more than a bone covered with skin. It will remain fixed in its position until he dies. Maybe that's how it goes for all of us, basically." Internet photo.

Theresa I can't help but wonder why. Why did he begin raising his arm? 8y
LeahBergen 😬 8y
Hobbinol @Theresa Apparently he wanted to separate himself from the comforts of life in order to devote himself to the Hindu God Shiva more purely . I can only hope he uses a good deodorant! His reasoning is of no concern to Daoud who was searching for something to express how we become emotionally stymied and fixed as opposed to religiously ascetic and clean. 8y
Theresa I think I would make a very poor Hindu follower. Unlike you, I didn't think of the deodorant angle 😂 but I did wonder why his arm wouldn't assume a normal position while he slept & many other questions. I admire people like Daoud who can focus in certain points of view, but I don't think I could proceed wholeheartedly if someone didn't at least acknowledge my most basic questions, as elementary as they may be. 8y
Theresa ...cont... I find the whole thing fascinating though. 8y
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Lorihenry
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sistercity The summary of this book sounds so interesting, and counter to the Camus, which I read and hated in school. What brought you to it? 8y
Lorihenry @sistercity: I read a review of the book in The Guardian and it piqued my interest. I vaguely remember not liking Camus' novel from school days, so I re-read the original first. I like the concept of this new 'version' and thought it was definitely worth the read. I have it if you ever want to borrow it! 8y
sistercity Well, I suppose I know where you live and where you're headed, so I may take you up on it! 8y
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BookishFeminist
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Pickpick

Perfect retelling of THE STRANGER from the perspective of the brother of the Arab man who is killed. Beautifully written prose that gives much needed racial perspective to post-colonial Algeria. Deep emotional discussion of identity, names, race, family, & existentialism in a noir-like tone. 🇩🇿

BookishFeminist Algerian Independence Day was on July 5 & since The Stranger is one of my favorite books, I read this in its honor. The other book in the pic is my really well-loved, decades old French edition of The Stranger! I loved my highlighter. 😂 8y
SaraBeagle Yes! I'm not normally a fan of retellings, but this one is great! 8y
mllemay I LOVED this book. It's such a great and necessary companion to The Stranger, and his writing is so beautiful. I read it in French and I'm curious - how did you find the translation? 8y
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HardcoverHearts I've really gotten into retellings this last year. When they are good, they can help shine a light on the original from a new perspective. I have this one queued up in my TBR. 8y
RealLifeReading Sounds good 8y
BookishFeminist @SaraBeagle It really is! Retellings are usually hit or miss for me. 8y
BookishFeminist @mllemay Agreed--I was surprised by how closely it stayed to the original while remaining so different. The translation was great! I feel it stays true to the prose & form of The Stranger. I wanted to read this in French but grabbed it from my library instead; where'd you find the French version? 8y
BookishFeminist @HardcoverHearts You'll love it! This is one of the best retellings I've ever read. 8y
mllemay @BookishFeminist French bookstore close to my place. I'm in Ottawa and even though it's predominantly anglophone, we French-Canadians are pretty well catered to ðŸ‘🻠8y
BookishFeminist @mllemay Jealous! I'm in DC & we don't have a French bookstore. The Amazon version was $25!! No thanks, lol. There's a great French bookstore in NYC though so I might check there to see if they have it next time I'm up there. :) 8y
mllemay @BookishFeminist it sucks when the books we want aren't accessible! What's the bookstore in NYC? I'd love to check it out whenever I go back 😊 8y
BookishFeminist @mllemay It's called Albertine. It's an absolutely gorgeous store, too. The ceiling is painted like a constellation. http://www.albertine.com/ We'll have to swap French book titles sometime!! 8y
mllemay @BookishFeminist ooh that looks so cool! And I'm always up for talking books :) 8y
KVanRead @mllemay that's my home town! Miss the French bookstores...Amazon prices are nuts!! @BookishFeminist putting Albertine on my NYC trip list! Thx:) 8y
BookishFeminist @KVanRead @mllemay Are either of you going to Book Riot Live? If so we could plan an Albertine excursion. I always have to drag non-francophones with me whenever I go & they get bored 😂 8y
mllemay @KVanRead yay Ottawa lol! @BookishFeminist unfortunately probably not this year...I don't yet know where in the world I'll be in November so it didn't make sense to buy tickets. There is a chance I'll end up in New York though, and if so, count me in! 8y
BookishFeminist @mllemay Excellent! Maybe (hopefully?) I'll see you there?! Let me know if you wind up in NY--I visit frequently! 8y
mllemay @BookishFeminist I'll definitely let you know! 8y
KVanRead @BookishFeminist I'll be in NY end of July, but don't think I'll make it back in November. Hoping for a West Coast BR Live at some point. @mllemay Any favorite bookshops in Ottawa these days? I usually make it home once a year or so. 8y
mllemay @KVanRead my favorite French one is La Librairie du Soleil in the market. But I haven't been buying a lot of books lately (I do love my library's used bookstore though!) Which ones did you like? 8y
KVanRead @mllemay Thx I will have to check that out...gosh, it's been so long, I used to really like the NAC bookstore and Ottawa U, and there was a used one on Sparks/Elgin that is probably long gone, and another near the Bytowne. 8y
BookishFeminist @mllemay @KVanRead Y'all are really making me want to visit Ottawa! 8y
mllemay @KVanRead omg the one near the Bytowne is still there!! I love it because you can barely walk, it's so tiny and so full of books lol 8y
KVanRead @mllemay Yay! Love knowing it's still there — brings back happy memories of books and movies â¤ï¸ @BookishFeminist Go! 8y
Readaholics Nice! So freaking in to read this! 8y
74 likes21 stack adds26 comments
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heikemarie
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"I never felt Arab, you know. Arab-ness is like Negro-ness, which only exists in the white man's eyes."

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JessicaTripler
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Rereading for Literature and Medicine book club, along with Camus

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mllemay
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So many amazing passages in this book 😠but this one about the effects committing murder has on your ability to love was 👌🻠I had to reread it multiple times before moving on

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mllemay
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Pickpick

Best book I've read in 2016 so far! If you have read L'étranger (The Stranger) by Albert Camus, I highly recommend this one. It will definitely enrich your experience of that story. FYI the English translation is out :)