The Bengali translation of French novel “Meursault, contre-enquête” (The Meursault Investigation) has won the fifth Romain Rolland Book Prize.
The award was given to translator Trinanjan Chakraborty and publisher Patra Bharati.
The debut novel of Algerian writer and journalist Kamel Daoud, ‘Meursault, contre-enquêteto’ is a retelling of Albert Camus’ 1942 novel, “The Stranger”. It won the prize beating the other shortlisted book — the Hindi translation of Marjane Satrapi’s cult comic “Persepolis”.
Romain Rolland Book Prize, started in 2017, aims at awarding the best translation of a French title into any Indian language, including English. As part of the prize, the winning publisher and the translator will be awarded a curated trip to the Paris Book Fair, 2023 (Livre Paris).
The French LitFest 2022 was part of the ongoing ‘Bonjour India’, an art and culture summer festival which celebrates the relationship India and France share. The festival, funded by the government of France and supported by the France Embassy, is travelling to 19 cities with over 200 events.