The Disappearance of Mr. Nobody: A Novel

by Ahmed Taibaoui, Ahmed Taibaoui

WINNER OF THE NAGUIB MAHFOUZ MEDAL FOR LITERATURE A “spare, well-crafted and compelling” (Samah Selim) novel in which a man in Algiers disappears without trace and the detective in search of him finds more than he expected

In Rouiba, a nondescript suburb of Algiers, an unnamed man with a troubled past escapes his everyday life to find himself caring for an old man with dementia. When the man dies, the carer disappears into thin air. A police detective is assigned to investigate the circumstances of the old man’s demise and to track down the caretaker, only to find that the unnamed man cannot be identified—that there is no trace of Mr. Nobody. The officer’s search leads him to those whose paths once crossed Mr. Nobody’s. In each of them he finds a reflection of the man he is looking for.

A raw, lyrical portrait of life on the margins in contemporary Algiers, this haunting noir captures an underworld of police informers, shady imams, bootleg beer traders, and grave robbers, and reverberates with echoes of Algeria’s violent past.

Genres: Fiction, Literature, Contemporary, Novels, Algeria

126 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Sofia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A strange noir about the disappearance of Mr Nobody, who first disappeared to himself and then to those around him whilst creating a web of disappearance which caught in it those who saw him and disregarded him and the ones who looked for him.

It's a study of people who get stuck in the margin in a corrupt society and how this makes them not see others and become annulled themselves as if the society itself is deleting them from the picture. The deletion created by the corruption is made manifest by the actual disappearance. It sort of reminded me of all the 'desaparecidos' in other beleaguered societies.

[BaSila Husnain · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a book. Existentialist, absurdist, social criticism detective fiction type, and yet extremely poetic.

[Guchu · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel horrible rating this so low, but it was TEDIOUS!

[Matt · Rating 1 out of 5]

Even though this book won an award, it was not good at all

[Akshara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will likely revise this rating after our book club discussion but I did not understand or fathom what the point of the story was. The first half deals with Mr Nobody who makes us oscillate between deep sympathy for his obviously wretched life and reluctant attention at his current thoughts. The second half starts off promising with the detective Rafik tasked with finding the missing man. But as it details into his own personal life history and the history of two other people mentioned, I was at sea. Thankfully we get resolution for the end of 2/4 people which assuages the utter disbelief at how the other 2 simply vanish

[Andy Weston · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an Algerian noir, dealing with crime and the poverty-ridden underbelly in Algiers.

It is in two distinct parts, the first of which follows an unnamed, destitute and reclusive man, a veteran of the Civil War, who looks after his friend Mourad’s dying father, in exchange for a place to live. As the father dies, the man disappears, causing many, not least the police, to question his part in the old man’s demise. It reads as a series of diary entries.

The second half follows the police detective, Rafik, charged with locating the man, referred to as Mr. Nobody. The noirish quality of the first half, is energised by a more typical crime narrative in the second part.

It works really well.
It’s structure, being in two parts, is unusual and wrong-foots the reader into their assessment of the character of Mr Nobody.

[Mark Shenoda · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a miserable experience.

[Frazer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hate writing negative reviews about minor authors from small presses but I can think of almost nothing nice to say about this book.

I liked the setting - Rouïba in Algiers. Don't think I've ever read a book by an Algerian author before and thought the book did a good job conveying the raw brutality of its streets. An atmosphere of hopeless desolation pervades the book, almost apocalyptic in its lack of joy. Whether that's a comment on the country or not, it was impactful.

At no point did I feel the book compelled me to read on. Perhaps the longest 120 pages I've ever read. It's split in two, first the account of 'Mr Nobody' who cares for an old man in his final days of senility. We hear all about how shit his life is, how treacherous and selfish everyone he knows is, and his bodily urges. The second half loosely follows a detective and some others "investigating" the disappearance of Mr Nobody (though why anyone actually cares I never quite established). No one can claim to have known anything substantial about Mr Nobody (no doubt a comment on the anonymity of impoverished urban life), which complicates their search.

I think one of the main problems is we're given absolutely no sense of the characters' authentic inner lives and motivations. Why anyone did anything was pretty much a mystery to me. They seem to be on tracks heading to their inevitable fates, struggling with no internal conflicts, only bitterness at what life's served them. There's also no love. We hear rumours of love but they're so clouded by cynicism and jealousy that they're impotent.

I'm certain I would have enjoyed it more if I could read the original Arabic. I don't think it translated well. So many sentences began with 'I' it felt like a school holiday report. Gutted to have missed @translatedgems bookclub's discussion of this book. I really wanted to complain to someone about this book (and perhaps have my own opinion changed too).

[Cauê Bueno · Rating 3 out of 5]

O Desaparecimento do Sr. Ninguém, do argeliano Ahmed Taibaioui, é um romance breve que envolve pelo mistério e pela ambiguidade: acompanhamos o sumiço de um homem comum por meio dos relatos fragmentados de quem cruzou seu caminho, e essa costura de vozes mantém o suspense até o fim, sem nunca entregar respostas fáceis. Cada personagem carrega sua versão dos fatos, mas ninguém parece saber, de fato, quem ele era. O livro é especialmente fascinante porque trabalha com a ambiguidade das identidades, não apenas do protagonista, mas de todos ao redor. Culturalmente, a obra oferece um vislumbre da Argélia urbana, atravessada por desigualdades, desencanto social e marcas invisíveis de violência, e, para leitores de fora, especialmente de contextos ocidentais, há momentos em que o código cultural pode ser uma barreira, mas para mim acrescentou à experiência. Recomendo a leitura!

[Ekene Obi-okoye · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the issue people may have with this book is the pacing. The mood is very apathetic and nihilistic which is what made me curious about the work but that kind of tone needs moments to help people come up for air. The flow of the writing could have done with more breaks in paragraphs. That said, I’m sure the way that the ideas seemed to run into each other was intentional and contributed to the feeling of being overwhelmed by life.

[Holly Ristau · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this because it was recommended by a member of my aqua exercise class. I'm nice that way. Didn't like it and wonder why my friend thought I might.... Short book that took a LLLOOONNNGGG time to read.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure I understood what happened in part 2. But I like this exploration on the conceptual nature of disappearance, liminal states and the marginalized.

[Lara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I struggled. The premise is so good, and I was so excited to read this, particularly given the awards its won, but I had a hard time following the continual drawl of thoughts without organization which constitutes how it's written. Then I also found it quite depressing. I got half way before I decided I wasn't enjoying this as I thought I was.