The Meursault Investigation

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?