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129th out of 469 books
—
434 voters
A Happy Death
Written in his early twenties and retrieved from his private papers following his death in 1960, A HAPPY DEATH is a remarkably candid portrait of its author as a young man. As the novel follows the protagonist, Patrice, to his victim's house--and then, fleeing, in a journey that takes him through stages of exile, hedonism, privation, and death--it gives readers a glimpse i...more
Paperback, 144 pages
Published
February 28th 2002
by Penguin Books, Limited (UK)
(first published 1971)
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‘No, because I’m constantly in revolt. That’s what’s wrong.’
At either end of his writing life, we have two fractured novels. The First Man was a genuinely unfinished work-in-progress at his time of death, whereas this novel, his first novel-in-embryo, was reworked a number of times before Albert Camus abandoned it in favour of The Stranger. And there are certainly similarities. Roger Quilliot has suggested that ‘Meursault (protagonist of The Stranger) … is the younger brother of Mersault (protag...more
At either end of his writing life, we have two fractured novels. The First Man was a genuinely unfinished work-in-progress at his time of death, whereas this novel, his first novel-in-embryo, was reworked a number of times before Albert Camus abandoned it in favour of The Stranger. And there are certainly similarities. Roger Quilliot has suggested that ‘Meursault (protagonist of The Stranger) … is the younger brother of Mersault (protag...more
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Astonishingly ruthless, miserably immoral, awfully actual... interrogation of inner self, examination of fate: deprivation versus profusion, might versus right, outrage versus regret, life versus death... The story of a man who starts journey to his death with the idea that pleasure is over the sympathy. He kills a rich paralyzed person, grabs his wealth and goes after the happiness he deserves. His struggle brings no fruit. Life has nothing for him. He belongs to death and undergoes it - ironic...more
this is the Richard Howard translation, hardcover. I rescued it from a dumpster last summer.
There is a napkin inside between pages 114 & 115 with scribbling most likely intended for a journal. There is no name. It's dated 7/20/72. Here is what it says:
May not go to California afterall,
going due N.E. through New England
as planned and still on schedule.
Drifted through winchester to
see Emily, and did, from a
distance in a bar.
May be back in 2 wk. but
hard to say. like to get to Mexico in Dec.
Saw...more
There is a napkin inside between pages 114 & 115 with scribbling most likely intended for a journal. There is no name. It's dated 7/20/72. Here is what it says:
May not go to California afterall,
going due N.E. through New England
as planned and still on schedule.
Drifted through winchester to
see Emily, and did, from a
distance in a bar.
May be back in 2 wk. but
hard to say. like to get to Mexico in Dec.
Saw...more
"A Happy Death" is an important aid to cataloguing the mindset of Camus as a developing artist. The style is very good, particularly the imagery. That being said, there is probably a reason that Camus did not publish this book himself. The first division of the book--"Natural Death"--is fairly good, and has good plot direction. The second section, "Conscious Death," gets very annoying very fast. By the end of the first chapter in that section, I hated Patrice Mersault, the protagonist. By the en...more
I read "The Stranger", the work Camus is most well known for my senior year of high school. It was an assignment given to us by our English teacher who had the foresight to introduce her students to the Existentialist movement. From the first line, I was gripped by Camus prose and how incredibly descriptive it was without feeling flowery. I dove into Existentialist literature and philosophy with the zest that the young have for all things mysterious.
It will soon by 20 years that I read "The Stra...more
It will soon by 20 years that I read "The Stra...more
A Happy Death was Camus's first attempt at writing a novel, which he worked on from 1936-1938 when he was in his early to mid twenties. He (wisely) chose not to submit it for publication, but after his death in 1960, his widow (unwisely) decided to allow the unfinished manuscripts to be corrected and compiled into a book, which was published in 1971.
This book is based in part on Camus's early experiences, including his childhood in a blue collar neighborhood in Algiers, his early troubled marria...more
This book is based in part on Camus's early experiences, including his childhood in a blue collar neighborhood in Algiers, his early troubled marria...more
Called a "preamble to L'etranger," A Happy Death is similar in plot but was Camus' first book, written in his early 20s but never published during his lifetime. It's rather disjointed style-wise and not "polished" in its draft mode, but this is what makes it really interesting, and in my opinion, "good." One really gets a sense of Camus' writing abilities and there are some amazing sensory descriptions and sentences that blew me away:
"Summer crammed the harbor with nose and sunlight...The day sp...more
"Summer crammed the harbor with nose and sunlight...The day sp...more
So this is Albert Camus' first unpublished written novel. It is said to be a preamble to 'the stranger' which I'm reading next. The main character in this book Patrice Mersault is a nihilistic, obsessive existential character that beseeches for the way to a happy life and therefore satisfying death. The book is divided in two parts the natural and conscious death. The first part is the most intriguing to me, dealing with murder and cutting into the topics of loneliness, love , lust, money and ti...more
Mar 02, 2013
girl
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
No one, yet.
Shelves:
philosophy-questions-world,
lit
“'In a minute, in a second,' he thought. The ascent stopped. And stone among the stones, he returned in the joy of his heart to the truth of the motionless worlds.”
*shudders*
I don't know that I enjoyed reading this. It made me angry, it irritated me, and I couldn't wait to finish it. Sometimes, though, it made me smile. It also made me pause and think.
What does it mean to die a happy death? In fact, what is called happiness? This, I think, is what Mersault struggles with right after he kills Zag...more
*shudders*
I don't know that I enjoyed reading this. It made me angry, it irritated me, and I couldn't wait to finish it. Sometimes, though, it made me smile. It also made me pause and think.
What does it mean to die a happy death? In fact, what is called happiness? This, I think, is what Mersault struggles with right after he kills Zag...more
ليست بمستوى رواية الغريب ، وقد يكون السبب في ذلك كونها عمل لم يضع عليه ألبير رتوشه النهائية .. فقد نُشرت بعد وفاته وبإلحاح من طلبة العلم والمتابعين له وقامت زوجته بنشرها بمساعدة بعض المهتمين بأعماله .. مايميّزها تشابهها بعمله الغريب ولكن بشكل يختلف عنها كذلك ! هي تضم أحداث وقعت في حياة آلبير ، وكأنها كُتبت لكيّ تكون سيرة ذاتية بشكل أو بآخر ، لكن أيضاً تم إضافة بعض الأحداث فيها وقد تكون البداية الصاعقة بقتل زغرو و الحمى التي أصابت البطل شبيهه جداً بعمل دوستوفيسكي الجريمة و العقاب ....
الموت السعيد...more
الموت السعيد...more
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This book started out strong but petered out towards the end. It follows Patrice Mersault and his quest to find happiness. The book is largely a philosophical debate about happiness, how to achieve it, love, and all things of that nature. I enjoy Camus's characters and how you get to know them without him actually divulging much of their interior thoughts. It is sort of like interacting with a real person. However, I am always annoyed by people who try so hard to find happiness. What a vague ide...more
I read this one quite some time ago, but I just realized that I never rated it nor wrote a review. I don't really want to write a review for something that's not 100% fresh in my mind, so I'll keep this one short.
On the front cover, it tells you that this book should be read as a preamble to The Stranger. If you look at my review of that book you'll see that I absolutely loved it. But that was the first book Camus wrote. It holds a plot similar to that of The Stranger, a man detached from societ...more
On the front cover, it tells you that this book should be read as a preamble to The Stranger. If you look at my review of that book you'll see that I absolutely loved it. But that was the first book Camus wrote. It holds a plot similar to that of The Stranger, a man detached from societ...more
A less cohesive work than Than Stranger, A Happy Death is more of a scattered reflection of Camus' thinking and writing style. It reflects effectively the philosophies of Camus'. Mersault (not to be confused with the Mersault of The Stranger) is in search of happiness. The two parts of the book reflect two different paths of life Mersault follows. The book can cause one to reflect upon one's own pursuit of happiness.
I would definitely recommend reading the afterward by Jean Sarocchi, if you are...more
I would definitely recommend reading the afterward by Jean Sarocchi, if you are...more
Ok, perhaps it's simply because I just read The Stranger yesterday, but this book seems to be a lesser version of that book, albeit with a more descriptive prose, and that's one of the best things about The Stranger, the non-descriptive, detached prose which forces us to see the world through the eyes of the main character.
Character names are recycled, events and a lot of descriptions are recycled. As I read, I keep double checking if I didn't accidentally pick up the wrong book. Sadly, I didn't...more
Character names are recycled, events and a lot of descriptions are recycled. As I read, I keep double checking if I didn't accidentally pick up the wrong book. Sadly, I didn't...more
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Mar 15, 2013
Aaron Powell
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
general-fiction,
philosophy
This Camus fellow is one hell of a writer. His mastery of prose is truly remarkable, and I find myself rereading certain sentences over and over, enjoying the profound effect made on me. Unfortunately, a Happy Death was a bit dry for me. I found that my mind was wandering, not being able to recall much of what I was reading toward the middle of the story. But the end is quite powerful (no surprise there), as I realized what Camus was doing in describing the "Will to happiness." This is not my fa...more
Okay. Weird book. I should have expected something a bit on the existential side when I picked up a Camus work. And as usual, despite it’s odd factor, I really enjoyed it. It is a little bit of a tough read – so descriptive in nature that it’s kind of like reading very poetic poetry. (redundant, I know). And similar to other Camus books I’ve read, it took till the last third of the novel for me to grow to appreciate and love the main character. I’m not exactly sure why Camus didn’t care for this...more
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Another philosophical book by Camus. They said it's the first draft for 'the stranger' but I appreciated 'The Stranger' more.
I feel like I want to re-read this before deciding exactly what I think of it because I kind of feel terrible for the way he describe women in this novel -_- but, despite that odd factor, I really enjoyed it.
This book is really a tough read since i felt like reading a very deep poetry (well, I should have prepared myself for that...it is Camus' novel) ;)
September 01 ,2012...more
I feel like I want to re-read this before deciding exactly what I think of it because I kind of feel terrible for the way he describe women in this novel -_- but, despite that odd factor, I really enjoyed it.
This book is really a tough read since i felt like reading a very deep poetry (well, I should have prepared myself for that...it is Camus' novel) ;)
September 01 ,2012...more
Mar 27, 2012
Everett Pantaloons
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction,
philosophy
I read this entire book in one sitting. Not because I was enjoying it, just because I wanted to quickly be done with it.
I really thought I would enjoy this book. Bit in all honesty I learned very little from it and enjoyed only a few small parts. The book is split into two parts: 'Natural Death'(50 pages) and 'Conscious Death'(100 pages). Natural Death is by far the best part of the book. If it ended at 50 pages I would probably give it a 4/5 rating. But the second part I found to be awful. Ther...more
I really thought I would enjoy this book. Bit in all honesty I learned very little from it and enjoyed only a few small parts. The book is split into two parts: 'Natural Death'(50 pages) and 'Conscious Death'(100 pages). Natural Death is by far the best part of the book. If it ended at 50 pages I would probably give it a 4/5 rating. But the second part I found to be awful. Ther...more
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click here.
I felt that “La mort heureuse” was a nice attempt to proffer the existentialist perspective on the "will to happiness". I would have changed the title to reflect a happy life instead of a happy death. I must admit that it was not apparent to me that this work was a precursor to “L’Étranger”. Although I am probably in the minority in this assertion, the only apparent relation is the main character’s name and some existential themes. In fact, much of “L’Étranger” seems rather nihilistic to me. Any...more
Nov 28, 2007
John
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people who like camus (and men who are men and women who are women)
If you like Camus, you'll like this book. The story line is pretty simple: a man, Mersault (mer=sea, soleil=sun) kills a crippled rich man (who also happens to be the other lover of Mersault's "mistress") and steals his money. After that, he goes on a quest to discover and live the happy life. It's at once really simple and really difficult to discern exactly what it is happiness entails for Mersault (but isn't the same for us all?). This is not exactly a quest in which the hero attempts everyth...more
the first time i remember hearing about camus was in sophomore year of highschool in my english class. i had seen the name in a salinger book prior, and my teacher had a large poster of albert on the wall looking bored, french, and troubled. i mispronounced his name as "cam-uss", saying it like a true american teenager. we read "the stranger" in class, like most teens. the teacher gave me special assignments to read more camus.
this is the book he wrote at the age of 19, prior to "the stranger"....more
this is the book he wrote at the age of 19, prior to "the stranger"....more
I made certain that my review is for the translated edition I actually read. I don't have any beef with the flow of the text - only that the story is somewhat disjointed. This was Camus' first attempt at a novel and was never published in his lifetime. It does make me want to investigate other writings by this famous author, but this particular novel is probably only interesting for those who want to read everything he ever wrote - just because it came from Camus. On its own, it's difficult to e...more
May 27, 2011
Susana Pereira
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
translation,
nobel
Já o tinha lido há muito tempo e não me lembrava dos detalhes da história nem que se tratava de uma edição com uma introdução de um especialista no autor e muitas notas a comparar a redacção de diferentes manuscritos (porque se trata de uma obra que Camus deixou de lado num estado ainda "bruto" e foi publicada postumamente).
Trata-se de uma espécie de primeira tentativa para o que viria a ser "O Estrangeiro". Os protagonistas partilham o nome, o crime, a perda da mãe e, em certa medida, o próprio...more
Trata-se de uma espécie de primeira tentativa para o que viria a ser "O Estrangeiro". Os protagonistas partilham o nome, o crime, a perda da mãe e, em certa medida, o próprio...more
This is now my third or fourth time having read this, and it has now become my favorite overture of Camus. There is speculation as to whether or not this is a complete 'novel' as it stands considering it was put together and published posthumously; ultimately thinking the swelling nucleus of The Stranger usurped A Happy Death in prioritization. I have read on numerous occasions that this volume can be read as a preface to the aforementioned The Stranger given their close chronology, but I am jus...more
The first novel of Albert Camus to be published posthumously, 1971, he was killed in a car crash in 1960. 'A Happy Death' is something of a stitched together series of short, almost autobiographical, stories. Part One-Natural Death has five short chapters. Part Two-Conscious Death holds two thirds of the book.
Camus' composition style engaged my attention through the meandering plot and interflow of the philosophical themes and with just over a hundred pages, a quick read.
Camus' composition style engaged my attention through the meandering plot and interflow of the philosophical themes and with just over a hundred pages, a quick read.
I love Camus. Can't help it. I love him so much that I can overlook (or at least temporarily table) the ridiculous treatment of women in this book (in particular, the character of Lucienne--some kind of twenty-one year old's fantasy?)and just enjoy the descriptions and philosophizing. And face it. Camus is on to something when he asserts that happiness involves three main components: money, time and emotional mastery.
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Albert Camus was an Algerian-born French author, philosopher, and journalist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957. He is often cited as a proponent of existentialism (the philosophy that he was associated with during his own lifetime), but Camus himself rejected this particular label. Specifically, his views contributed to the rise of the more current philosophy known as absurdis...more
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“I feel like getting married, or committing suicide, or subscribing to L'Illustration. Something desperate, you know.”
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“He discovered the cruel paradox by which we always decieve ourselves twice about the people we love-first to their advantage, then to their disadvantage”
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