What do you think?
Rate this book
The Deep Murmur: Preceded by Elegy for Enoch Powell
- GenresNonfiction
82 pages, Paperback
Published April 14, 2024
1 person is currently reading
20 people want to read
About the author
Renaud Camus
159 books59 followersRenaud Camus, writer, painter, photographer, was born in 1946. As a young man, Camus' ideas and writings were strongly influenced by his association with Roland Barthes, Louis Aragon, Marguerite Duras, and the Warholian circles. He is now the author of more than one hundred and sixty works, published for the most part by P.O.L, Fayard and now by "Editions du Château": annual volumes of diaries, novels, essays, elegies, eglogues, dictionaries, anthologies, writings on art, political writings, literary travel guides...
His works are marked by the question of meaning. It includes avant-garde texts, the "Eclogues", conceived as a response to the aporias of the Nouveau Roman, and "Burn Boats", an immense hypertext in perpetual growth. The political work is organized around the monumental "Du Sens" (P.O.L., 2002), "Le Petit Remplacement" (Chez l'auteur, 2017) and "Le Grand Remplacement" (Chez l'auteur, 5th edition, 2019).
Cultural animator of the Château de Plieux for a decade (exhibitions Jean-Paul Marcheschi, Eugène Leroy, Miro, Jannis Kounellis, Josef Albers, etc.), Renaud Camus is also the author of abstract paintings ("YHWH", "Alephs", "Enjambements") and figurative, as well as photographic albums ("The Day nor the Hour").
To fight against the industrialization of man and the massacre of landscapes, against a pan-economism that treats men as Undifferentiated Human Matter, and against the change of people and the violence it implies, the author founded the party of In-nocence (2002) and, with Karim Ouchikh, the National Council of the European Resistance (2017)
His works are marked by the question of meaning. It includes avant-garde texts, the "Eclogues", conceived as a response to the aporias of the Nouveau Roman, and "Burn Boats", an immense hypertext in perpetual growth. The political work is organized around the monumental "Du Sens" (P.O.L., 2002), "Le Petit Remplacement" (Chez l'auteur, 2017) and "Le Grand Remplacement" (Chez l'auteur, 5th edition, 2019).
Cultural animator of the Château de Plieux for a decade (exhibitions Jean-Paul Marcheschi, Eugène Leroy, Miro, Jannis Kounellis, Josef Albers, etc.), Renaud Camus is also the author of abstract paintings ("YHWH", "Alephs", "Enjambements") and figurative, as well as photographic albums ("The Day nor the Hour").
To fight against the industrialization of man and the massacre of landscapes, against a pan-economism that treats men as Undifferentiated Human Matter, and against the change of people and the violence it implies, the author founded the party of In-nocence (2002) and, with Karim Ouchikh, the National Council of the European Resistance (2017)
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 19, 2025
[Vauban Books] (2024). SB. 73 Pages. Purchased from Amazon.co.uk.
“Elegy for Enoch Powell”
“The Word ‘Race’”
“The Deep Murmur”
I obtained this title primarily to read the opening piece.
It kicks off fairly well, at least in intention, with a called-for attempt to contextualise its much misunderstood subject:
“…one of the historic and intellectual figures I admire most… a hero of the Second World War and the fight against Nazism… a general… a poet, linguist, eminent scholar, expert in classical literature and philology, specialist of Herodotus and Thucydides, prominent politician, and great visionary…” (p. 1.)
This deserved tribute is, however, tainted by slovenly error and omission.
Powell (1912-1998) was never a General - he was the youngest Brigadier in the history of the British Army - ultimately interred in his uniform.
He also served as Professor of Greek at the University of Sydney, aged only 25, a feat hitherto unsurpassed within the British Empire. A role which he resigned in order to fight. He later expressed regret that he had not perished in the conflict.
The author goes on to state:
“…’Rivers of Blood’… the expression is not to be found in the speech itself…” (p. 2.) [The full text is reproduced within the Appendix.]
Absent verbatim, certainly, but the following is present:
“As I look ahead, I am filled with foreboding; like the Roman, I seem to see 'the River Tiber foaming with much blood'.”
The arguably misleading ‘title’ was grafted on, much to Powell’s chagrin (a ‘misappropriation of his words’), but there is an irrefutable element of underpinning?
“…generally well received by the public, at least among the native population…” (p. 4.)
Specifically, a Gallup Poll conducted in the immediate aftermath showed 74% of respondents to be in agreement, only 15% negatively inclined and 11% unsure.
It’s a shame that no mention is made of his resonant, heartfelt and pertinent words regarding Hola Camp (Kenya) (House of Commons: 27/07/1959).
“…forever shattered Powell’s career…” (p. 4.)
A hyperbolic statement. ‘Inhibited’ would be more apt - i.e. ‘subsequently denied senior office’. He went on to serve as an M.P. for a further ~18 years whilst continuously featuring prominently in the media and being widely published. His funeral service was conducted at Westminster Abbey.
The two ensuing articles examine interesting, ‘hot topics’:
“…I will ask you to imagine what would happen to a young scholar should he today discover… that women’s intellectual capacity is 17.48% lower than that of men. Does one believe that this scholar, no matter how rigorously he carried out his study, would be acclaimed…? …It is immensely more likely that our unfortunate scholar would there and then find himself obliged to give up all hope of ever having a career… Every era has a passionate hatred for bad ideological news - news that contradicts what it has decided is just and good to believe…” (p. 21.)
Unfortunately, they spiral into rambling dogmatic rants… with rum phraseology:
“the genocide by substitution…” (p. 43.) (Attributed to Aimé Césaire (1913-2008))
“…UHM, Undifferentiated Human Matter…” (pp. 44-45.)
“…retrospective genocidal-negationism…” (p. 46.)
“…the Great Replacement…” (p. 48.)
There are some interesting quotes from others, notably:
Wikipedia:
“Since the mid-twentieth century, scientific studies based on genetics have shown that the concept of ‘race’ is not relevant in characterizing the various geographical subgroups of the human species because the genetic variation between individuals within a single population subgroup is greater than the average genetic variation between two different geographical subgroups.” (p. 24.)
Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza (1922-2018):
“…in reality, the idea of race serves no purpose for the human species. The structure of human populations is extremely complex; it varies from one region of the world to another, from one people to another; one always encounters an infinite number of gradations due to constant migration within borders and across borders, which makes neat distinctions impossible.” (p. 25.)
Andre Pichot (1950-2025):
“In biology, race is a subdivision of species…
…Due to their interfertility, moreover, there may be a regular graduation between the races thereby defined (the species is therefore always the basic taxonomical unit).
It is nevertheless true that, for men and plants alike, different races exist, in all likelihood the product of geographical isolation and endogamy. It is fairly easy to distinguish between them, even if there is often little reason to do so, for their definition, imprecise though it may be, is not totally arbitrary.” (p. 27.)
Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970):
“It is good that there are yellow Frenchmen, black Frenchmen, and brown Frenchmen. They show that France is open to all races and has a universal calling. But only on the condition that they stay a small minority. If not, France will no longer be France.” (p. 72.)
“Elegy for Enoch Powell”
“The Word ‘Race’”
“The Deep Murmur”
I obtained this title primarily to read the opening piece.
It kicks off fairly well, at least in intention, with a called-for attempt to contextualise its much misunderstood subject:
“…one of the historic and intellectual figures I admire most… a hero of the Second World War and the fight against Nazism… a general… a poet, linguist, eminent scholar, expert in classical literature and philology, specialist of Herodotus and Thucydides, prominent politician, and great visionary…” (p. 1.)
This deserved tribute is, however, tainted by slovenly error and omission.
Powell (1912-1998) was never a General - he was the youngest Brigadier in the history of the British Army - ultimately interred in his uniform.
He also served as Professor of Greek at the University of Sydney, aged only 25, a feat hitherto unsurpassed within the British Empire. A role which he resigned in order to fight. He later expressed regret that he had not perished in the conflict.
The author goes on to state:
“…’Rivers of Blood’… the expression is not to be found in the speech itself…” (p. 2.) [The full text is reproduced within the Appendix.]
Absent verbatim, certainly, but the following is present:
“As I look ahead, I am filled with foreboding; like the Roman, I seem to see 'the River Tiber foaming with much blood'.”
The arguably misleading ‘title’ was grafted on, much to Powell’s chagrin (a ‘misappropriation of his words’), but there is an irrefutable element of underpinning?
“…generally well received by the public, at least among the native population…” (p. 4.)
Specifically, a Gallup Poll conducted in the immediate aftermath showed 74% of respondents to be in agreement, only 15% negatively inclined and 11% unsure.
It’s a shame that no mention is made of his resonant, heartfelt and pertinent words regarding Hola Camp (Kenya) (House of Commons: 27/07/1959).
“…forever shattered Powell’s career…” (p. 4.)
A hyperbolic statement. ‘Inhibited’ would be more apt - i.e. ‘subsequently denied senior office’. He went on to serve as an M.P. for a further ~18 years whilst continuously featuring prominently in the media and being widely published. His funeral service was conducted at Westminster Abbey.
The two ensuing articles examine interesting, ‘hot topics’:
“…I will ask you to imagine what would happen to a young scholar should he today discover… that women’s intellectual capacity is 17.48% lower than that of men. Does one believe that this scholar, no matter how rigorously he carried out his study, would be acclaimed…? …It is immensely more likely that our unfortunate scholar would there and then find himself obliged to give up all hope of ever having a career… Every era has a passionate hatred for bad ideological news - news that contradicts what it has decided is just and good to believe…” (p. 21.)
Unfortunately, they spiral into rambling dogmatic rants… with rum phraseology:
“the genocide by substitution…” (p. 43.) (Attributed to Aimé Césaire (1913-2008))
“…UHM, Undifferentiated Human Matter…” (pp. 44-45.)
“…retrospective genocidal-negationism…” (p. 46.)
“…the Great Replacement…” (p. 48.)
There are some interesting quotes from others, notably:
Wikipedia:
“Since the mid-twentieth century, scientific studies based on genetics have shown that the concept of ‘race’ is not relevant in characterizing the various geographical subgroups of the human species because the genetic variation between individuals within a single population subgroup is greater than the average genetic variation between two different geographical subgroups.” (p. 24.)
Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza (1922-2018):
“…in reality, the idea of race serves no purpose for the human species. The structure of human populations is extremely complex; it varies from one region of the world to another, from one people to another; one always encounters an infinite number of gradations due to constant migration within borders and across borders, which makes neat distinctions impossible.” (p. 25.)
Andre Pichot (1950-2025):
“In biology, race is a subdivision of species…
…Due to their interfertility, moreover, there may be a regular graduation between the races thereby defined (the species is therefore always the basic taxonomical unit).
It is nevertheless true that, for men and plants alike, different races exist, in all likelihood the product of geographical isolation and endogamy. It is fairly easy to distinguish between them, even if there is often little reason to do so, for their definition, imprecise though it may be, is not totally arbitrary.” (p. 27.)
Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970):
“It is good that there are yellow Frenchmen, black Frenchmen, and brown Frenchmen. They show that France is open to all races and has a universal calling. But only on the condition that they stay a small minority. If not, France will no longer be France.” (p. 72.)
October 17, 2025
Lovely phrases: but cedes far too much ground on race "possibly" not being real; Camus, read Shockley, Watson, Murray, Herrnstein, David Reich: race is obviously real...why, also, are you so enamoured with a state like Israel that cares nothing for the genocide of Europe and whose proponents encourage it in the style of Peter Rachman wherever they can be found?
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews