>> Readings

Alger la Noire
Maurice Attia

Babel Noir • 2006 • 384 pages

Jacques Lerognon
Translation: Rebecca Schwarz

 

Paco Martinez and his partner Maurice Choukroun are investigating a double murder committed on a beach in Algiers. A group of kids have found the murdered, nude bodies of Estelle and Mouluod. Mouloud's body had been mutilated; the letters “OAS” scratched onto his back with a knife. All the evidence points to a racist crime committed by a reactionary, extremist faction. But Paco has his doubts, and directs his initial investigation towards the family of the young woman, a broken family led by a disabled father. The investigation might be dull were it not conducted in Algiers between January and June, 1962 during the last, troubled days of French Algeria. Paco will have to dodge bullets and bombs in order to track down the murderer.

When his partner is attacked by the OAS for alleged treason, Paco will have to go on with the help of Irene, his mistress. Paco, a likeable character; has yet another woman in his life: his Spanish grandmother, a refugee of the Spanish Civil War, who raised him and is now dying.

Martinez, the narrator, is a cultivated man; as he describes his situation, he makes frequent references to film noir , specifically, directors such as Hawks, Hitchcock, and von Sternberg, as well as writers such as Camus and Hugo. However, at times Choukroun, Irene and the grandmother take over the narration, and the result is weak and at odds with the inspector's point of view.

Musicality of language plays an important role, too, as Italian, Arabic and Spanish are sprinkled throughout the text, reflecting the multilingualism of the era.

A dark story that is both simple and engrossing, the novel is told in an insider's voice that immediately captures the reader's attention and emotions. A detective story that sheds new light on the fiasco that was the end of French Algeria, this novel may provoke hostile reactions to what is still a controversial issue today.