N recounts the story of the Frenchman Raymond Borremans, who left Europe
for Africa in the mid-20th century. He devoted his life to the creation of the
first encyclopaedia of this other world, dreaming of eternal recognition. He
died, however, having only reached the letter N. With his encyclopaedia
incomplete, his restless spirit drifts around West Africa, caught between life
and death, past and present. Why has he returned to the living? An African
woman who helps restless spirits find peace, tries to lead him towards his
destiny.
When confronted with civil war, he is shattered. His encyclopaedic mind --
bent on drawing borders, on definitions and categorizations -- finds the
contingencies of reality less easy to cope with. This is the story of how he tries
to complete his unfinished task from beyond death.
