Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature Winner Gives Voice to Marginalized

“No one else will be destined to write a life story as squalid as mine, although it’s all true,” comments Mr. Nobody, the nameless and elusive protagonist of Algerian author Ahmed Taibaoui’s intriguing and suspenseful noir novel. Set in Rouiba, a working-class suburb of Algiers, the story begins sometime in the aftermath of the country’s War of Independence from France (1954–1962) and the ensuing 1990s civil war, referred to as the “Black Decade.” Time is as ambiguous in this novel as the visage, age and history of Mr. Nobody, who finds himself unwittingly taking care of Suleiman Bennaoui, a War of Independence veteran with dementia abandoned by his son Mourad. For Mr. Nobody, a homeless wanderer whose past has led him through the dregs of life, caring for the dying man was an act of kindness that restored his sense of humanity. However, once Bennaoui dies, he leaves the body in the apartment and vanishes, launching a police investigation into the veteran’s death. Assigned to the case by the local police commissioner, Detective Rafik Nassiri’s unsuccessful search for fugitive Mr. Nobody compels Nassiri to examine his own unhappy life. Mr. Nobody’s ability to disappear without a trace, asserts the detective, is an act of complete heroism. A fascinating read and winner of the 2023 Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature, this novel gives voice to those socially marginalized in post-war Algeria and leads to the question: What does it mean to exist?