I've mentioned Kamel Daoud's multiple-prize-winning take on Camus' The Stranger, Meursault, contre-enquête, serveal times already.
Along with Houellebecq's Soumission, it is among the most anticipated coming translations from the French (in Daoud's case: from Other Press) -- and now Alice Kaplan's review/discussion of it in The Nation is also freely accessible -- an interesting read.
She notes that the novel: "has created a commotion that shows no signs of subsiding", and that:
She notes that the novel: "has created a commotion that shows no signs of subsiding", and that:
When Meursault, contre-enquête first appeared, readers in France thought that Daoud was settling scores with Camus, whereas Algerians worried that he had gone over to the other side. French and Algerian readers alike had trouble distinguishing between Daoud, the author, and Haroun, the character.And she wonders:
Will Daoud's novel be received in the United States as an Algerian Portnoy's Complaint; a postmodern romp à la Pynchon; or a political novel, read through the lens of September 11 ?I'm curious to see as well.