Raphaël Confiant's Le Meurtre du Samedi-Gloria: Crime and testimony

This paper proposes a close reading of Inspector Dorval’s closed case from both a narratological and socio-cultural perspective, arguing that what may at first blush appear to be irrelevant clues—information that, decidedly unrelated to Beausoleil’s murder, is disregarded by both Dorval and the reader—are in fact pieces of circumstantial evidence related to an unnamed crime scene of far greater proportions. Whereas Beausoleil’s murder is effectively solved, Confiant’s novel diverges from the traditional detective narrative, divulging in the very diversity of its testimonies a wealth of incriminating declarations with respect to France’s continued influence on and control of its Overseas Departments.