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| Original Title | 亜剌比亜人エルアフイ |
|---|---|
| Author | 犬養 健 |
| Genre | Modern Short Fiction |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | In August 1928, El Afui—a marathon champion born in French Algeria—collapses into an Amsterdam bathhouse after his Olympic victory, haunted by the roar of crowds and phantom finish lines. Exhausted yet restless, he is interrupted by a Parisian journalist determined to uncover the "romanticized origin story" of a desert boy turned French national hero. The reporter’s persistence coaxes fragmented memories: El Afui’s childhood in Biskra, where a young André Gide, convalescing from illness, became an enigmatic mentor who shaped his defiance and vigor. Flashbacks reveal Gide’s fascination with Algeria’s rawness, clandestine palm wine rituals, and philosophical clashes with faith—echoes of which linger in El Afui’s grit. Yet the athlete resists nostalgia, dismissing his past as "sand and flies," even as the journalist unearths ties to Gide’s controversial legacy. Meanwhile, in Paris, El Afui’s ailing daughter undergoes medical exams under Madame Gide’s watchful eye, hinting at unresolved connections between past ideals and fragile futures. The narrative weaves Olympic glory with colonial shadows, leaving trails of unanswered questions about identity, influence, and the cost of transcending one’s origins. |
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