The Meursault Investigation

Solid 3 “it was good” stars. I thought it was well-written and showed the “other” side of The Stranger well, but it didn't resonate with me like I hoped it would.

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.

This short novel is a beautifully written, dreamlike monologue, a rant by the purported brother of the “Arab” killed by Meursault in Camus's novel L'étranger. Daoud imagines the latter as a nonfiction account written by Meursault himself, who subsequently has become acclaimed for his writing and philosophy, while the Algerians of the tale sink further into degradation and anonymity following a violent war of independence. The “Investigation” author questions nearly everything about the famous book, asserting that nearly all the details are wrong even as he seems to channel Meursault-like qualities, almost in a state of possession. It's a strange, idiosyncratic narrative that left me as bemused as the narrator's bar acquaintance must have been. What really happened under the sun? What is life, what is fiction? Can we ever know?

Boken som du bør lese når du har lest «Den fremmede» av Albert Camus. Dette er fortellingen til broren av araberen som Camus' hovedperson drepte på stranden i Alger. New York Times kaller den en oppfølger, ikke en alternativ historie, og tanken slår meg: Hvis alle som bøker fra kolonitiden skrevet av vestlige forfattete fikk en motsvarende bok skrevet av den koloniserte: Hva slags verdensbildet hadde vi da fått?

Velskrevet, håpløst og ærlig, en fabelaktig liten diamant.

I loved this book–I love the meta-narrative conversation with Camus' The Stranger, I love the sparse writing, I love the humor; there is snark here elevated by being applied to existentialism, to colonialism, and the like. I would have gone with five stars if there hadn't been so much misogyny that wasn't really unpacked.