A Man With No Title

by Xavier Le Clerc, William Rodarmor (translator)

Mohand-Said Ait-Taleb is an enigma. Living in France but ravaged by memories of the war in Algeria, he has withdrawn into his own world, away from his wife and children. When his son Xavier discovers articles by Albert Camus describing the appalling conditions his father grew up in, he starts to piece together the story of his life.

Xavier retraces the steps of this dignified, illiterate and strong-willed from Kabylia – where starving children, like Mohand-Said, fought with dogs for scraps – to the metal factory in Normandy, where his father would spend the rest of his days, consumed with providing for his family. It is there that Xavier discovers his love of books. When he breaks with conservative family traditions and confesses his attraction to men, Xavier will find which doors slam closed and which will open.

A Man With No Title is a beautiful and moving tribute to a father, to the immigrants condemned to undertake the hardest work for meagre reward, and to the power of literature to transcend class.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, France, Africa, History, Algeria

107 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 31, 2022

About the author

Name of birth: Hamid Aït-Taleb

Reviews

[enzoreads · Rating 4 out of 5]

merci beaucoup c’était génial

[Antonio Jiménez · Rating 4 out of 5]

«Su relato parecía un cuento bereber, y de pequeño ya percibía, escuchando atentamente a mi padre, lo delgada que es la línea que separa la magia de los recuerdos».

[Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

all i can say for now is this has the most beautiful ending

[Aurelio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paisajes de la Cabilia, excesos coloniales, procesos migratorios y de pobreza. La metrópoli francesa entre el bien y el mal, quizás más cercana al mal. Infancias desbocadas al encuentro de una identidad marcada por el color de piel, la cartera medio llena y medio vacía.

[Bruno COURJAL · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptionnel, un chef d œuvre !

[Serine · Rating 4 out of 5]

C'était une expérience qui fait physiquement mal

[Anwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really powerful book dedicated to a father who struggled through starvation, poverty, colonialism, migration, and war. You can see how the author tries to give words to a father who was never given them before.

[Zeineb SmaOui · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fils d'immigré, ayant changé de nom pour trouver plus facilement du travail en Angleterre.
A travers ce court roman de 128 pages, l'auteur retrace la biographie de son père algérien, dont l'enfance pauvre l'a conduit à se rendre en France pour travailler à l'usine. Ce portrait du père dressé est touchant, fin et subtile, conduisant le lecteur dans cette vie si particulière sans tomber dans un pathos larmoyant. Bel hommage sincère du fils pour son père si discret.

J'ai beaucoup aimé la richesse des références littéraires, notamment celle de Camus, Rimbaud, Ernaux...A découvrir!!

[Ludo · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5
Magnifique découverte de cet auteur à l'écriture fluide et belle. L'histoire et la manière de l'aborder sont superbes (même si évidemment, c'est loin d'être un conte de fée).

[Lesleyts · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short but powerful book - showing the story of one man’s journey through poverty, colonialism, war and hard labour.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑

I never enjoy rating a personal non-fiction anything less than four stars (unless the author is a creepy asshole - yes I'm looking at you, Matthew McConaughey), but A Man With No Title was too long for what it was and far too short for what it could have been.

I was expecting a deeply moving portrait of a father by the son of an exploited immigrant, and while there certainly were some moments of this, for the most part it reads like a portrait of a family written by someone who actually only met them twice. This in itself could be a commentary on the immigrant experience, but the author never fully set a scene which just left me feeling lost and unmoved. There are so many scenes in this novel that could've been fleshed out with personal reflection of some sort by the author, but he didn't go there until the very end, where he discusses the reasoning behind changing his name.

I don't know whether my issues were exacerbated by this being a translated work, because there's always something to lose in translation. It is certainly not the first time a translated book feels like it is keeping me at arms length, but unfortunately I don't read French so there really is no way to know.

The sad part is that I think the experience of this family in its entirety is one that should absolutely be told. I just wish the author actually told it. This unfortunately felt like an outline, and I just did not end up really getting much out of it.

[al-mahdi · Rating 3 out of 5]

FINISHED: APR 1, 2025
RATING: 3.25

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a heartbreaking story of a man recounting his father’s life living through poverty and war. I felt every word written in such a short book. However, the writing was, in my opinion, not my favorite. There was something off about it that I just couldn’t get myself to connect with. It read like a diary. There were some very valuable moments in this book, and I wish we got more of them. More of the parents, more of the siblings. And especially more of the main character Hamid/Xavier. Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to those looking for a short but impactful read.

[Theodora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un livre qui s’inscrit dans un contexte difficile, celui de la France et l’Algérie. La demande de mains d’oeuvre en France fut pour beaucoup d’Algériens la seule opportunité de travail. L’auteur se met a nu et raconte l’histoire de son grand-père, père et sa propre histoire. J’ai beaucoup aimé comment l’auteur écrit son livre; des mots recherchés, l’on ressent une influence d’auteurs comme Camus et autres auteurs classique de la littérature française et Nord africaine.

[Caroline Segal · Rating 2 out of 5]

J'ai trouvé l'écriture plutôt fade, plate. Cette lecture ne m'a pas émue. J'aurai certainement préféré l'histoire de la mère de l'auteur, mariée à 15 ans, répudiée, à nouveau mariée à un homme bien plus âgé qu'elle et plutôt violent, qui lui imposera de nombreux enfants, une vie recluse entre les courses, les repas et le linge.
Pourquoi avoir choisi d'écrire sur son père alors qu'après de nombreuses démarches, il a réussi à ne plus en porter le nom ?

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 : J’ai adoré le pain des français, ce livre me laisse un peu perplexe. Je trouve finalement que l’auteur décrit assez peu son père, mais plus son évolution à lui dans son contexte familial. Le personnage du père nous paraît assez éloigné finalement et on dirait plus une sorte d’introspection / journal intime de l’auteur, histoire qui reste intéressante néanmoins mais qui ne m’a pas embarqué plus que ça.

[Pip · Rating 4 out of 5]

"But how can you dream of equality with a mind that is oppressed by the constant need to earn a living?"

"My illiterate father was my first book. He was bursting with captive words and feelings, which escaped only in fragments. It wasn't easy to bribe the warden of his imprisoned memory."

"Besides, does hunger really end when a stomach is no longer empty or does some insatiable ogre get lodged in our deepest, innermost fears and eventually devour our minds along with our guts?"

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nicely written work about the life of an ordinary man, who sacrificed himself for others--his family, the industrialists who owned the workplace where he worked for decades, his culture, etc.--and whose life was difficult, as was his relationship with others and the world. Perhaps a bit too sparse for us to understand this man, but the author clearly has talent.

[Saga Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A moving tribute to a father who got lost in history somewhere between colonial Algeria to France, through violence, poverty and discrimination. Wonderfully written (although sometimes a bit pompous maybe, might have been a translation issue though). Could have gone even deeper in some parts, especially towards the end. For fans of Annie Ernaux or Edourd Louis.

[Cecile · Rating 5 out of 5]

Très beau livre sur les origines, la pauvreté, la persévérance et l’espoir. Malgré ce aue l’auteur a vécu il n’y a pa de ressenti évent ou de haine mais de la compréhension, de la gratitude et de l’empathie. Style d’écriture très simple pour impact maximal.

[Dina Rahajaharison · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Mon père avait les yeux incandescents d'un artiste, comme une forêt en feu."

[Louvel · Rating 4 out of 5]

L’auteur raconte Histoire de son père, qu’il a découverte un peu tard, et qui lui permet de mieux comprendre son personnage. Livre mi personnel - mi politique
Intéressant mais pas « prenant »

[. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quand je l'ai pris je m'attendais à qqc plus émotif mais finalement non mm si g qd mm aimé me plonger dans ce nouveau quotidien. Ct pas une lecture hyper rapide mais cv g bien aimé finalement.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Le plus grand récit sur l’histoire douloureuse de l’immigration en France mais aussi l’hommage sublime d’un fils à son père.

[AnLor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tb

[Naili · Rating 5 out of 5]

Émouvant

[marina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

[Cèlia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joder

[Stephanie Lamotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tres belle écriture

[Cristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me gustó pero siento que pudo haber profundizado en más temas. Siento que todo lo relató y describió de una manera general, haciendo la lectura fría.

[Julián Floria Cantero · Rating 3 out of 5]

«No vivíamos ya ni en Francia ni en Argelia. El único país que conocíamos era la violencia»