Kamel Daoud versus Albert Camus in *Meursault, Counter-Investigation*: readings from the other shore

Abstract

In the present article, we address a widely discussed topic among literary critics, a subject that has attracted significant attention since Algeria’s independence on July 5th, 1962 up to the present day. Through a historico-literary approach, we provide a reading of Kamel Daoud’s novel Meursault, Counter-Investigation and identify the elements that, according to literary specialists, lie behind its nomination for the 2014 Goncourt Prize as well as the media campaign it generated on both sides of the Mediterranean.

We also attempt to examine, through some French writings, the extent to which Western readers hold a positive view of literary works that portray the critical, vulnerable, chaotic, and even impoverished condition of Algerian society.