Book Name : The Meursault Investigation
Author : Kamel Daoud
What is it about : In this short story, our man Harun presented the tale of his brother-turned-victim, Musa, in the famous book by Albert Camus, the Outsider (aka The Stranger). The book took the form of an investigative journalist interviewing Harun in an Algerian bar over a period of some seven days, with Harun regaling the story from a first person narrative perspective. Harun painstakingly recalled how his mother dragged his young self all around Algiers to find his brother, then only reported as "The Arab" who got shot or "The Victim" who was taken to hospital as all attention was focused on the French-Algerian murderer, who had no morals and drank coffee at his mother's funeral (as from the famous book). Years had gone past without Musa being found or even a grave being identified, then all of a sudden, a local female student turned up at the door step "... free, brash, disobedient, aware of their body as a gift, not as a sin or a shame... from the pre-Independence days ..." with the famous book, detailing all that had happened to Musa. As Musa's fate became clear, Harun found himself falling in love with the student.
Some thoughts after having read the book : A refreshing and innovative technique to write a sequel to a well known book (from another author) by describing the perspectives and angles of the victim's family from the original book and at the same time injecting into the story the immense background of the build up of a revolutionary Algeria on its way to Independence.
Would I recommend this book to you : A book well worth reading for its technique, drama and narrative style - reading Albert Camus's The Outsider beforehand, would be a pre-requisite to catch the drift of this book and experience the emotional roller-coaster.
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