The Sea Close By

by Albert Camus

Part of the Penguin Classics campaign celebrating 100 years of Albert Camus, A Sea Close By reveals the writer as a sensual witness of landscapes, the sea and sailing. It is a light, summery day-dream.

Accompanying The Sea Close By is the essay Summer in Algiers, a lovesong to his Mediterranean childhood.

Genres: Fiction, Philosophy, Classics, Short Stories, Essays, French Literature, France

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1954

About the author

Works, such as the novels The Stranger (1942) and The Plague (1947), of Algerian-born French writer and philosopher Albert Camus concern the absurdity of the human condition; he won the Nobel Prize of 1957 for literature.

Origin and his experiences of this representative of non-metropolitan literature in the 1930s dominated influences in his thought and work.

He also adapted plays of Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Lope de Vega, Dino Buzzati, and Requiem for a Nun of William Faulkner. One may trace his enjoyment of the theater back to his membership in l'Equipe, an Algerian group, whose "collective creation" Révolte dans les Asturies (1934) was banned for political reasons.

Of semi-proletarian parents, early attached to intellectual circles of strongly revolutionary tendencies, with a deep interest, he came at the age of 25 years in 1938; only chance prevented him from pursuing a university career in that field. The man and the times met: Camus joined the resistance movement during the occupation and after the liberation served as a columnist for the newspaper Combat.

The essay Le Mythe de Sisyphe (The Myth of Sisyphus), 1942, expounds notion of acceptance of the absurd of Camus with "the total absence of hope, which has nothing to do with despair, a continual refusal, which must not be confused with renouncement - and a conscious dissatisfaction."
Meursault, central character of L'Étranger (The Stranger), 1942, illustrates much of this essay: man as the nauseated victim of the absurd orthodoxy of habit, later - when the young killer faces execution - tempted by despair, hope, and salvation.

Besides his fiction and essays, Camus very actively produced plays in the theater (e.g., Caligula, 1944).

The time demanded his response, chiefly in his activities, but in 1947, Camus retired from political journalism.

Doctor Rieux of La Peste (The Plague), 1947, who tirelessly attends the plague-stricken citizens of Oran, enacts the revolt against a world of the absurd and of injustice, and confirms words: "We refuse to despair of mankind. Without having the unreasonable ambition to save men, we still want to serve them."

People also well know La Chute (The Fall), work of Camus in 1956.

Camus authored L'Exil et le royaume (Exile and the Kingdom) in 1957. His austere search for moral order found its aesthetic correlative in the classicism of his art. He styled of great purity, intense concentration, and rationality.

Camus died at the age of 46 years in a car accident near Sens in le Grand Fossard in the small town of Villeblevin.

Chinese 阿尔贝·加缪

Reviews

[Ina Cawl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short work which has two essays written by Albert camus
The first essay which has the same name of the book was s a hallucinatory voyage across the sea and what the sea meant for humans across history
The next essay which is named Summer in Algeria is the more fascinating one as he tackles his usual themes of death, absurdism and existential thinking.

«I grew up in the sea and poverty was sumptuous, then I lost the sea and found all luxuries grey and
poverty unbearable.»

[Peiman E iran · Rating 3 out of 5]

دوستانِ گرانقدر، در این کتاب قرار نیست خواننده همچون همیشه با داستانهایِ گیرا و پرکششِ زنده یاد «آلبر کامو» طرف باشد.. این کتاب از دو قطعۀ ادبی به نام هایِ "دریایِ نزدیک" و " تابستانِ الجزیره" تشکیل شده است... متنِ ادبیِ دریایِ نزدیک، متنی سرشار از استعاره و تشبیه در موردِ دریا و زندگیست... و اما متنِ الجزیره، در موردِ زندگی در شهرِ الجزیره، پایتختِ کشورِ الجزایر میباشد... تصویری ادبی از نوعِ زندگی، شورِ زندگی و البته فقرِ مردمانِ این سرزمین... درکل، برایِ این کتاب، تصورِ خواندنِ داستان را از سر بیرون کنید.. اگر اهلِ ادبیات باشید، شاید از خوانشِ آن لذت ببرید.. ولی اگر اهلِ خوانشِ رمان و داستان باشید، ممکن است تا تصوری که از آلبر کامو در ذهن دارید، تغییر کند
چکیده ای از آنچه آلبر کامو در موردِ الجزیره در این متن آورده است را برایتان مینویسم.. سپس جملاتی را به انتخاب از متنِ دریایِ نزدیک و تابستانِ الجزیره را در زیر می آورم

آلبر کامو، بر این باور است که مردمانِ الجزیره، مردمانی دین گریزند.. آنها اهلِ زندگی هستند و از موهوماتِ بهشت و جهنم بی زارند.. ولی شاید به دلیلِ همین دین گریزی باشد که پایبندِ اخلاقیاتِ انسانی و دلسوزی میباشند.. همه با هم مهربان و در عینِ فقرِ مالی، همه شاد و سرزنده هستند... این مردم کاری به روح و جهانِ پس از مرگ ندارند.. این مردم رسمشان ستایشِ بدن و تنِ انسان است.... در الجزیره، هیچ خداوندگارِ فریبکاری نمیتواند با وعده هایِ پوچ و توخالی، امید و رستگاری و زندگیِ این مردم را در این جهان، تسخیر کند و به آنها وعدۀ آخرت را بدهد
در سینماهایِ محلی الجزیره، گاه آب نباتِ نعنایی با برچسبی قرمز رنگ فروخته میشود تا نوشته هایِ رویشان، عشق را در ما برانگیزد: کِی با من ازدواج خواهی کرد؟ آیا عاشقم هستی؟ ... پاسخ ها: در بهاران ..... دیوانه وار
خیلی ها در الجزیره با این روش ازدواج کرده اند
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من تنها زمانی رنج میبرم که انبوهِ آدمیانی را میبینم که در طلبِ راهِ خروج هستند
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نهرها و دریاچه ها میگذرند.. دریاها می آیند و رد میشوند... اینگونه باید عاشق باشیم: با وفا و زودگذر
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من این را میدانم که خوشبختیِ فرازمینی بی معناست... خوشبختیِ فرازمینی وجود ندارد و بیرون از حلقۀ آمد و شدِ روزها و گذرانِ روزگار، هیچ ابدیت و جهانِ آخرتی وجود نخواهد داشت.. میدانم که این آسمان از من جاودانه تر و ماندگارتر خواهد ماند
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هرچیزی که شورِ زندگی را برانگیزد، هم زمان به بیهودگیِ آن نیز می افزاید
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من نمیدانم معنایِ کلماتِ موهومی همچون «گناه» چه میباشد!! ولی میدانم این مردم هیچ گناهی ندارند.. اگر در زندگی گناهی هم وجود داشته باشد، آن گناه امید نداشتن به زندگی و امید به زندگی در جهانِ نامعلومِ پس از مرگ و فرار از عظمتِ گریزناپذیرِ این جهانِ حقیقی میباشد
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انسان بودن همیشه آسان نیست و دشوارتر از آن، انسانِ خوبِ راستین بودن است.. راست بودن یعنی بازیافتنِ سرایِ آرامش که در آن خویشاوندیِ این جهانِ حقیقی و انسان احساس شود.. جایی که در آن نبضِ انسان وابسته به تابشِ سوزانِ آفتابِ ساعتِ دو بعد از ظهر باشد
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اینجا، جایی برای ناامیدان نیست، اما میدانم که دریا از پس و پیش همیشه سراغم می آید و مرا به جنون میرساند.. آنانی که عاشقِ هم بودند و از هم جدا شده اند، میتوانند در اندوه زندگی کنند.. اما این به معنیِ نا امیدی نیست، آنها از وجودِ عشق آگاهند.. من از این آگاهی رنج میبرم، با چشمانی خشک در تبعید.. همچنان در انتظارم، عاقبت روزی فرا میرسد که.....0
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عشقی ناگهانی، اثری باشکوه، عملی تأثیرگذار، اندیشه ای تجلی یافته، تمامِ اینها در آن لحظاتِ خاص به یک اندازه اضطراب آور هستند.. اضطرابی طاقت فرسا توأم با طلسمی نیرومند.. آیا زیستن بدین سان، در اندوهی دلپذیر بودن، در مجاورتِ دلپسندِ خشمی که نمیدانیم چه بنامیم، همچون بردن به سرنوشتِ زجرآورمان است؟ باری دیگر، بی امان بگذار برویم.. همیشه احساس میکنم بر دریاهایِ آزاد، زندگی میکنم، تهدید شده، در دلِ خوشبختی ای شاهانه
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امید معادلِ "تسلیم" است و "زیستن" به معنایِ تسلیم نشدن
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مبلغانِ دینی و مذهبی میخواهند تا لذتها و خواهشِ تن در اسارت بماند و برایِ آنکه آن را معقول و موجه جلوه دهند، از آن به عنوانِ «زهد» نام میبرند!! که تفاوتی در حقیقتِ موضوع ندارد.. مگر میشود از زندگی لذت نبریم؟
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آفرین بر حامد رحیمی برایِ ترجمۀ این دو متنِ ادبی و دشوار
امیدوارم این ریویو در جهت آشنایی با این کتاب، کافی و مفید بوده باشه
«پیروز باشید و ایرانی»

[Luís · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two shortness-sunniest-funniest Camus stories. On the seashore.

[Anima · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘But already the season is wavering and summer totters. The first September rains, after such violence and hardening, are like the liberated earth’s first tears, as if for a few days this country tried its hand at tenderness. Yet at the same period the carob-trees cover all of Algeria with a scent of love. In the evening or after the rain, the whole earth, its womb moist with a seed redolent of bitter almond, rests after having given herself to the sun all summer long. And again that scent hallows the union of man and earth and awakens in us the only really virile love in this world: ephemeral and noble.’

[SARAH · Rating 3 out of 5]

احساس می کردم داشتم در سلول فلزی ام و رویایی از خونریزی و میگساری می مردم.بدون این که هیچ فضایی برای بی گناهی یا آزادی وجود داشته باشد!وقتی یک انسان حتی اجازه نفس کشیدن نداشته باشد،زندان یعنی مرگ یا جنون؛آن جا جز کشتن و تصرف کردن چه می توان کرد؟....."
نه!خود را به نفهمی نمی زنم،ولی درچشم من خوشبختی فرازمینی بی معناست.همین قدر می دانم که این آسمان از من جاودانه تر و ماندگار تر خواهد بود.جز ان چه پس از مرگ من همچنان خواهد بود،چرا ابدیت بنامم؟مقصودم از این سخن ،احساس رضایت از این شرایط نیست.حرف من چیز دیگریست.انسان بودن همیشه آسان نیست و دشوارتر از آن،انسان راست بودن است.راست بودن یعنی باز یافتن سرای آرامش که در آن خویشاوندی جهان و انسان احساس شود،جایی که درآن نبض انسان وابسته به تابش سوزان آفتاب ساعت دو بعد از ظهر باشد."
یکی دیگر از آثار کامو،در راستای همان اندیشه ناب و درخشان او ... همان استغنای او از امید و ،شوری که زاده ی این تهی بودن معنای امید است.و در تک تک کتاب هایش، رساله هایش..... این شور تو را در بر می گیرد.... این عشق بی نظیر به زندگی که من نمی دانم چطور در میان فارسی زبانان چنین تعبیر عجیبی از ان میشود! تعبیر به نا امیدی! تعبیر به سیاهی!!کامو باور مند ترین مردمِ روزگار ماست .او که از قعر تاریکی های زمان خود عشق به زندگی را چنین بی پروا فریاد میزند.کامو در چهل وپنج سالگی از جهانی که چنین ستایش اش میکرد، رفت.... ولی هنوز غریو فریادهای وجد آور او از میان خرابه های ایدولوژیک و بحران زده،قرن پر آشوبی که پشت سر نهادیم ؛ بر جانمان می نشیند.... کامو از زندگی گفت ...و شاید به همین خاطر هیچ گاه کهنه نمی شود!هر طوری می توانیم ،هر گونه که قادریم سرباز و مدافع اصل زندگی باشیم!!!! همچون او!!!!دریای نزدیک شالوده عشق کامو به الجزیره و دریاست ؛نمی دانم چرا،شاید چون چنین خلاصه و مختصر در آن تمام تفکری را که پشت بیگانه ،سوء تفاهم و .... بوده فریاد زده کمی مرا بر آن داشت که نقادانه در اثرنظر کنم. ... کامو را در هر شکلی بخوانید چه مختصر و چه مفصل!این توصیه و وصیت من است... وصیتم !!! بر سنگ گورم بنویسید کامو خوانی کوچک در شهری غریب!!!!!

[Laura | What's Hot? · Rating 4 out of 5]

At only 22 pages long, this is a short and sweet read. This a collection of two essays by Camus: The Sea Close By and Summer in Algiers. The former is about the sea whilst the latter is about the city and so these two essays compliment each other very well in this short collection.

This little book is absolutely beautiful with quote after quote after quote that will make your heart swell. I have to admit, I didn’t understand what Camus was getting at sometimes but this didn’t bother me because the way in which he expresses himself is just sublime. In order to truly appreciate this piece of work, I imagine one would have to read it incredibly slowly and carefully so as not to miss one single adjective. Whilst reading this, I felt like I had been transported to another world because Camus descriptions are so real and so beautiful.

For me, reading this was definitely more style over substance. I don’t feel that these works had a particular aim or purpose other than for Camus to put his thoughts down, and my, what beautiful thoughts. Both of these essays are observations, not stories, so you’re really just following a trail of thought.

All in all, I wouldn’t expect much more from this little book than 22 pages of the most beautiful writing you’ve ever read. If writing in books wasn’t one of my pet peeves, I would’ve definitely highlighted passages of this book so that I could remember my favourite parts. That said, I probably would’ve highlighted the entire novel. The Sea Close By is a lovely little booklet that one could spend a summer afternoon devouring. It’s also the sort of book that you can pick up time and time again, flick to a random page, read a random passage and just sigh at the beauty of life. Highly recommended.

[Théo d'Or]

There are stories you can't tell, they are stray thoughts, escaped from the souvereighty of reason, thoughts like colors, thoughts like musical notes, thoughts that contradict they narrow status as thoughts, no words necessary, just a mutual understanding that some things are too sacred for speech. Camus' thoughts are not to be read, they are to be lived, it is an experience that asks for your emotional engagement, rather than your analytical skills. Some of the most profound parts of your existence are those that you can share only through shared silence, à knowing look, a collective sigh, it's akin to the nature of a dream, where the act of speaking about it can cause it to dissipate into the ether, it is like standing in front of a masterpiece painting, you're enveloped by its aura, moved by its colors and forms, yet the moment you try to convey that expérience in words, it loses its luster. We're often taught to analyze, to dissect that cannot be dissected, and here you're simply forced to resist this impulse, to instead allow yourself to be immersed in the moment, to feel it fully without the need for immediate compréhension or communication. Camus' work, here, is an acknowledgment of the limitations of our verbal expressions, an invitation to engage with literature as art on a sensory level, it is a space where feelings reign suprême, and any attempt to define them can diminish their absolute impact. And this is a lesson that only the sea can teach you.

[Tanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

How do you describe first hand experiences as vividly as you experienced them in the moment?
Only if I could make even a failed attempt at matching this lyrical genius in creating a dreamy recollection of experiences I‘d consider myself successful at conveying my experience of reading these poetic essays.

It's not just Absurd in the ordinary what Camus saw, but also the ubiquitous surroundings through an eye filled with fascination. Camus writes about his meditation on various issues in the splendid language of the lonely vast sea and the mediocre city.
There are times when the world gets ugly. There are times when the boundaries turn murky.
“On that day I recognised the world for what it was, I consented that it's good should also do evil and its drawback carry benefits. On that day I realised there were two truths, of which one must never be told.”
Embrace. There are times when you need to conform to societal norms, and enduring the conformity you hope to establish linkage with society albeit it further distances you from the crowd. There sinks in a realization of loneliness in a world full of close and distant kin, full of friends and acquaintances. You start to doubt your solitude.
Despite this we stay hopeful, as one day, our voice within will finally be caught by another wanderer to hear. “Each cry we utter is lost, flies off into limitless space. But this cry, carried day after day on the winds, will finally reach land at one of the flattened ends of the earth and echo timelessly against the frozen walls until a man, lost somewhere in his shell of snow, hears it and consents to smile with happiness.”

This little book was an impulse buy at a bookstore because of the beautiful cover, and is now going to be one of my go-to proses.

[Bookish Bethany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know how to rate these two little stories from Camus, it seems almost belittling to relate the sum of something beautiful to a small number of stars. I love Camus, as many do, I picture him writing with his skin tanned to leather leaning over a balcony in Algiers watching men and women lie together naked in the hot sun. I picture him with rolled up shirt-sleeves and a half-smoked cigarette.

The way he creates an image of the sea and of leisurely men ignoring the laws of time, religion and morality on a beach is magnificent. The feeling of these words will stay with me.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very small book with 2 essays which I read this morning and then went to see the Albert Camus exhibition in town celebrating 100 years since his birth, a mix of old and new, copies of his original handwritten notes and type written drafts with scribbles as well as projected words on a screen that start out as quotes and then all the letters abandon their form and fly individually across the screen eventually settling back into a form we can read.

The Sea Close By is excellent, most of it is written as if at sea and though not much happens, it could not be more different than the way Hemingway depicts a man at sea. Camus is always in good company with his lexicon of words and seeing beauty in the mundane. The way he writes about waves, wind, the moon, night and day is mesmerising.

Must follow up and read l'etranger to commemorate.

[Hamed Rahimi · Rating 5 out of 5]

ترجمه‌ش کردم. باید منتظر چاپش بود...

[Isabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

"If I were to die, in the midst of cold mountains, unknown to the world, cast off by my own people, my strength at last exhausted, the sea would at the final moment flood into my cell, come to raise me above myself and help me die without hatred."


Belíssimas 20 e poucas páginas para ler no meio da azáfama do dia. Fez-me relembrar, e ter vontade de reler, o The Waves, da Virginia Woolf.


"All that is left is a space, lying open to a motionless voyage."

[Kobi · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Men praise me, I dream a little, they insult me, I scarcely show surprise. Then I forget, and smile at the man who insulted me, or am too courteous in greeting the person I love.”

This is my second experience with Albert Camus (with my introduction to Camus also having been this month), and despite my lousy 3 star rating, I do really enjoy what I've read of his works so far. The Sea Close By and Summer in Algiers are two 10 or so page long essays recounting life in Algiers and at sea. I think both of these were really well written, and really captivated my (short) attention span in a way I didn't originally think they would. I sometimes struggle with essays because I really can't find any type of emotional leverage to hang on to, but something about Camus' writing really draws me in. I had the same experience with his book The Outsider. Nothing much happened but I couldn't take my eyes off the page.

I would recommend this if you're a fan of Albert Camus or essays in general. I believe he really does have a gift with words and I'm really looking forward to reading more of his works sometime in the future!

[Ahmed Rashwan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a tremendously gorgeous read! I was gifted this beautiful booklet by a dear friend of mine who shipped it to me all the way from Canada!

I had heard the name Albert Camus several times, and had tottered around the idea of reading him or at least reading about him and his work to know whether I should read him or not. I had added a book or two of his to my reading list but never got around reading them. This book however has compelled me to want more!

I realise that the booklet is essentially essays, and based on experience with other writers I know that essay-writing can be dramatically different from novel-writing even if it is done by the same author; they are simply two different mediums, but Camus' delicious way of writing created a strong desire to just read more and more! I'm sure I will be investing a lot of time reading more of his work in the future.

Albert Camus' writing is dreamy; you can't help but feel like you've been suddenly dropped in the most pleasant, vivid and weird dream! His mastery of manipulating words to create beautiful and poetic prose leaves no room for one not to be delighted with reading him.

This was certainly a beautiful experience.

[Philipp · Rating 3 out of 5]

The knowledge that certain nights of prolonged gentleness will return to the earth and sea when we have gone can indeed help us in our death. Vast sea, forever virgin and forever ploughed, my religion with the night! It washes and feeds us in its sterile furrows, frees us and holds us upright. Each wave brings its promise, always the same. What does the wave say? If I were to die, in the midst of cold mountains, unknown to the world, cast off by my own people, my strength at last exhausted, the sea would at the final moment flood into my cell, come to raise me above myself and help me die without hatred.

[Ishraq · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Space and silence weigh equally upon the heart. A sudden love, a great work, a decisive act, a thought which transfigures, all these at certain moments bring the same unbearable anxiety, linked with an irresistible charm.”

[emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

A couple of lovely essays from Camus - very nautical, very Mediterranean, with a splash of absurdism and 'love' (in a wider/more general sense of the word).

'The Stranger' has been on my to-read list for ages now, even before I placed it on my GR reading list. I guess you can say that I was procrastinating. And reading this one was just me edging closer to Camus' work - 'dipping my toes into the water' nervously. I think I feel so nervous about it because I've already built a grand idea of him that I've grown to like too much, so I'm afraid of reading his bigger stuff and then not liking them enough - in particular 'The Outsider'/'L'estranger'.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Camus and I seem to have circled each other for several years, as I have meant to read more of his work, but haven't. I loved Myth of Sisyphus. I have long been meaning to reread The Stranger, which 11th grade English plugged me into with great force. The Plague has been my greatest target, but I haven't found a dead-tree copy to my liking, and can't tolerate the iPad long enough to give it a good effort.
So, I picked up this little signature of two essays and drank it down in a short sitting.
Just lovely. Camus writes with such readable prestige- not too convoluted or allusive like Emerson can be, but nonetheless powerful; you know he is a Capital-G Great.
I need a sailboat to best appreciate this. And I need to visit Algiers.
I suppose, for now, I'll settle for reading more Camus.

[Sleepydrummer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many of us love the sea but how delightful to have language as Camus' to fluently define those feelings. "I wed the sea." Albert Camus' almost poetic impression of the sea, with multitudinous thoughts and feelings flowing onto the pages.

Also included in the Penguin Modern Classic version is the essay, "Summer in Algiers". A
"Strange country that gives the man it nourishes both his splendor and his misery!" The writer deftly exposes us to the inhabitants and the landscape that make up his homeland.

[Mind the Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. Två Penguinmärkta essäer av Camus kom min väg. En om Staden. En om Havet.

Är inte helt förtjust i att läsa i engelsk översättning, men eftersom jag är "in haste to live" tager jag vad jag haver. Arkiverar dem nu, både bokstavligt och mentalt, till nästa sommar.

[Abeer Abdullah · Rating 4 out of 5]

So lovely and complex. Short but still compelling and thought providing and just so sweetly tragic and human. Camus is dope.

[Jola · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5.

[Afra Anan Anan Saba · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love it when I don't understand what the writers are getting at. :3

[Cintia Andrade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dois textos curtinhos e lindíssimos.

[Phoebe · Rating 4 out of 5]

two lovely essays - beautifully capturing all emotions using divine imagery.

[Patrick (Kunle) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Nicholas Finch · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most beautiful things I've read in a very long time.

[Mohammad Saeed · Rating 3 out of 5]

اثری به نسبت متفاوت با روحی شاعرانه از کامو که نگاه زیباشناسانه‌اش به دریا و آفتاب و "وطن"ش را نشان می‌دهد.
نیمی از کتاب مقدمه و معرفی کامو و آثارش هست و نیمه‌ی دیگر شامل دو قطعه ادبی کوتاه با سبکی متفاوت از آلبر کامو. یکی از این قطعه‌ها تا پیش از این به فارسی ترجمه نشده بود و از آنجایی که موضوعات و فضای مشترکی دارند خواندن‌شان در کنار هم لذت‌بخش خواهد بود.

[Joanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vakker liten bok.

[Fenriz Angelo · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting.