Une Femme

Although Une Femme is first and foremost a novel by J.R. Kramer, it also inspired Sjors Swierstra to make a documentary called The Life According to Mr Khiar, based on the book’s main character, Mr Khiar. The novel is written experimentally; the pages are made up of transcriptions of recordings, notes and photographs. The style of the recorded prose makes us want to look at the photographs, while the enigmatic photographs encourage us to read the prose. The main character is followed by a photographer obsessed with telling the story of Mr Khiar, who is hiding a dark part of his past and refuses to reveal it. The two characters take long walks through Beirut and become friends. In the end, whether or not the past is revealed is of little importance.