Dérangé que je suis

by Ali Zamir

Set on the island of Anjouan, Comoros, Deranged As I Am follows the story of a humble dock worker. With his ramshackle cart and patched-up clothes, he spends his days trying to find enough work to feed himself. This whirlwind of a novel takes place over just a few days, yet Ali Zamir’s poetic and energetic prose transports readers to the docks, its noises, colors, and smells. This lively and often darkly humorous story does not draw away from the more serious themes of class, poverty, and exploitation that Zamir explores. A rich and significant text that questions literature and language itself, Deranged As I Am confirms the very original place that Zamir occupies in French literature.

Genres: Africa, Comoros, Fiction, Literature, Novella, Adult

192 pages, Paperback

Published January 3, 2019

About the author

Ali Zamir a 27 ans. Il vit dans l’archipel des Comores, sur l’île d’Anjouan. Anguille sous roche est son premier roman.

Reviews

[Alan (the Lone Librarian on film festival hiatus) Teder · Rating 5 out of 5]

March 14, 2023 Thanks to links provided by Maddie Rogers of the Borderless Book Club I've added a book review link and a video link below. Also note that the book will be discussed at the Borderless Book Club on March 16, 2023 at 8pm UK Time.

Driven to Derangement
Review of the Fum d'estampa paperback edition (November 25, 2022) translated by Alice Banks from the French language original Dérangé que je suis (January 3, 2019)

Deranged as I am I have only seven ancient shirts in all. Seven pairs of trousers and seven pairs of shorts all pocked with holes and on each of them is written a day of the week so I don't forget reminding me that I shouldn't wear the same outfit twice you see?! Understand me but don't read too far into it! There are even people who take advantage of my passing by to read me like a calendar: Ah! It's already Friday! Good God that escaped me thank you Deranged you're an angel! As if my name were really Deranged!

This was quite a rollercoaster of a ride which follows the life of a haulage worker on the docks of Mutsamudu port in the Comoros, a tiny island nation north of Madagascar. [Readers with World Country reading challenges may want to add this short novella to their TBRs]. The title character, nicknamed 'Deranged', leads a scuffling existence hauling goods by hand with his wheeled cart nicknamed 'CaRleWis'. He is in constant rivalry with a trio of similar workers nicknamed the "PiPiPi" for Pirate, Pistol and Pity (and their fancier labelled carts 'Usain Bolt', 'LaShawn Merritt' and 'Michael Johnson'). A competition to haul the goods of a rich man results in a bet to run a race around the town of Mutsamudu. The rich man's wife is holding the stakes, but she also has other plans in mind for Deranged. Can he win the race, outfox the wife and beat off his neighbour's chickens who shit on his laundry every morning? The odds are against him, but Deranged is a survivor, and I don't count him out, even if it ends in seemingly dire circumstances.


A view of Mutsamudu and its port on the island of Anjouan in the Comoros. Image sourced from Wikipedia.

This may initially strike you as difficult reading with its long paragraph style and dialogue embedded without punctuation. It is novella length though and once you are immersed in it, it will carry you along in its underdog's journey and its comic tragic scenarios and set pieces.

The translation by Alice Banks was outstanding and read very easily and naturally.

I read Deranged as I Am through my subscription to Fum d'Estampa Press. It was "founded in 2020 by translator Douglas Suttle to bring exciting, different Catalan language literature to an English speaking audience. Though small, the press quickly established itself as an ambitious publisher of high quality titles. Since then, we have been long- and short-listed for some of the most important literary prizes in the UK and abroad, and have recently started to publish fantastic literature in translation from languages other than Catalan."

Other Reviews
Review ...I am sure of it by Areeb Ahmad, Asymptote Journal, February 15, 2023.

Trivia and Link
Translator Alice Banks reads from Deranged As I Am at the Translators Aloud Youtube channel here.

[Areeb Ahmad (Bankrupt_Bookworm) · Rating 3 out of 5]

"In Ali Zamir’s third novel, Deranged As I Am, narrator-protagonist Deranged is an impoverished man, somehow surviving on the paltry daily wages he manages to earn through hard labour at the docks from transporting goods and cargo, who keeps himself aloof from his fellow workers who make fun of him, using his clothes as a calendar: “Deranged as I am I have only seven ancient shirts in all. Seven pairs of trousers and seven pairs of shorts all pocked with holes and on each of them a day of the week so I don’t forget remaining me that I shouldn’t wear the same outfit twice you see?!” The novel itself begins intensely in medias res with Deranged trapped in a confined space, wounded and on the verge of death, his limbs tied up as flies swarm around him. His crying out, while exaggerated, highlights a jagged agony."

My review is now out on Asymptote: https://www.asymptotejournal.com/blog...

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A poor dockworker's anguished but funny monologue about the terrors and privations of working as a porter for hire at Mutsamudu port in the Comoros, an island north of Madagascar. Hot, exhausted, exploited, run ragged by his boss, his boss's wife, his rival cart-pushers, his neighbour, he remains nevertheless optimistic (slightly), and honourable. A good, pounding afternoon's read.

[☕Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ratings:

Writing 2
Story line 2
Characters 2
Impact 1

Overall rating 1.75

[Frazer · Rating 4 out of 5]

If anyone has read a book set on Matsamdu in the Comoros Islands (or even knows where that is tbh) I'll be impressed. An unlikely place for a story and an unlikely story to go with it.

A poor and hapless dock worker ends up being challenged to a cart race around the city and is nearly seduced in the process. The plot doesn't really make sense but funnily enough it felt strangely fitting. The madness of life in Matsamdu bleeds into the (possible) derangement of the narrator.

One I wish I'd received in time to discuss with #translatedgems!

[Julia Palma · Rating 3 out of 5]

01/199 do Desafio dos 199 Livros
(Comores - África)

[Oscreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sheesh!! Absolutely loved.

[M. 1001 livres à lire · Rating 4 out of 5]

J'ai adoré le style, beaucoup moins la tournure que prend l'histoire.

[Jean-Xavier · Rating 4 out of 5]

J’ai adoré l’histoire, très rabelaisienne mais dans le fond très morale, et bien sûr le style, mais j’ai quelques doutes. J’ai adoré le premier roman d’Ali Zamir, « Anguille sous roche » dont le style était plus naturel. Je n’ai pas encore lu le 2e, mais dans cet opus 3 je soupçonne l’auteur d’en faire un peu trop, de forcer le trait pour satisfaire le lecteur (français métropolitain) avide d’exotisme.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5
I have officially come to the conclusion that I do like stream of conciousness narratives, probably only when it's a novella though. But between this one and The Hour of the Star, I do think that I like them. So that's exciting. This book prob could've gotten a 4, but I do just really dislike the whole "woman lying about being raped" storyline. It never sits right with me, and I think it is extremely overdone and overblown.

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

Comoros for Read Around Africa.

I didn't really get on with this book or it's ending. It did prompt me to learn more about Comoros, which was really interesting.