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Camus
Interweaves discussion and evaluation of Camus' work with an account of the events of his life, providing a concise yet subtle analysis of how his experiences influenced his work
359 pages, Hardcover
First published January 19, 1942
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
June 19, 2010
Not a bad collection of essays analyzing The Stranger. Unlike most Marxist intellectual-types, Albert Camus was not a failed bourgeois (like the Messiah himself; Karl Marx), but someone from the actual working class who experienced much pain throughout his life (his death in a car wreck being the crowning moment of his life of tragedy). Camus rejected the Marxism violence promoted by Jean Paul Sartre (the fellow that was influenced by that evil Nazi Martin Heidegger, often considered the greatest philosopher of the last century) and seemed at odds with his fellow "intellectual proletarians." The book essentially does a good job clarifying the real-life/political views of Albert Camus in context with The Stranger. I recommend reading this book for it does fill in a couple holes as to the meaning of certain aspects of the novel.
October 11, 2015
A few years before I read the biography of Camus, I had lived in Port-aux-Poules, Algeria, along the coast very near to Arzew and Oran. I came to know the remnants of the pied noirs still in Algeria and how they had been expelled, not unjustly so perhaps. So when I learned that Camus was of these people I read the story of his life, having considered already that his L'etranger was one of the best books I had ever read, to learn how he had become an existentialist (his word I believe). Algeria provides that backdrop where one who does not come from its native soil, can exist there only as an existentialist. But growing up there you wouldn't feel that. You're just a foreigner in a foreign land, which is an existentialist state very much like wartime, you later find out, which is what Camus discovered as a Resistance leader under Nazi occupation. This book was a good introduction to Existentialism.
November 23, 2013
Obviously well researched, this shed unfiltered light on Camus as well as the political and social landscapes of his time. He appears to have had many more struggles than I ever imagined, but, despite exposing "warts and all", the author still presents a man of integrity who is "true to his contradictions". Damn, I love that phrase.
The author is quite conversant with absurdism and existentialism, so the full meanings and implications of Camus' writings were explained.....and will be forgotten.
The passage was stupendous:
Camus, who was an excellent theologian, repeats that, whereas innocence is a unity, guilt is a form of division which leaves man without any core of character, makes him subservient to others, and forces him to realize that he is an "other" to himself.
Learning that Camus could also hold a grudge? Priceless!
The author is quite conversant with absurdism and existentialism, so the full meanings and implications of Camus' writings were explained.....and will be forgotten.
The passage was stupendous:
Camus, who was an excellent theologian, repeats that, whereas innocence is a unity, guilt is a form of division which leaves man without any core of character, makes him subservient to others, and forces him to realize that he is an "other" to himself.
Learning that Camus could also hold a grudge? Priceless!
November 27, 2017
Mr. McCarthy's biography of Camus employs a particular irony well suited to his subject: Camus the saint, Camus the resistance leader, Camus the existentialist and Camus the committed leftist are all debunked, leaving in their place something much more compelling and likeable: Camus the human.
Mr. McCarthy's work is almost more of a sourcebook than a biography, containing lengthy discourses on the colonial history of Algeria and the war for Algerian Independence, interwar literary criticism, the interminable details of continental leftist politics, and French theater in addition to the typical "places, times and motives" of the average biography.
Camus is presented quite nearly as one of his protagonists, a man of passion without conviction, whose lust for action is stymied by a complete and existential disaffection. Personally heroic but geopolitically tragic (he was very late to the French resistance and his views on French Algeria are rightfully denounced), he presaged--but could not formulate, alas-- a left-libertarianism opposed to both western capitalism and Stalinist totalitarianism. Had he had more time perhaps he could have seen beyond the rim of his own experiences and written truly political texts later in life.
One of the biggest revelations of this biography is that Camus' writing is not political or philosophical but rather moral, nearly religious. As a disaffected teen with no real entry point into leftist politics or critical theory Camus was an important first step. His central premises (that knowledge is partial, that the human condition (and society, as an extension of that condition) is absurd, and that the universe is empty and uncaring) are necessary antecedents to the development of critical inquiry and necessary antidotes to a reactionary, religious upbringing. Perhaps we should reframe Camus as one of the few writers who truly lived what he wrote--his politics, his art, and his life were all gloriously incomplete, with vast silences filling the spaces he could not figure out how to bridge.
Mr. McCarthy's work is almost more of a sourcebook than a biography, containing lengthy discourses on the colonial history of Algeria and the war for Algerian Independence, interwar literary criticism, the interminable details of continental leftist politics, and French theater in addition to the typical "places, times and motives" of the average biography.
Camus is presented quite nearly as one of his protagonists, a man of passion without conviction, whose lust for action is stymied by a complete and existential disaffection. Personally heroic but geopolitically tragic (he was very late to the French resistance and his views on French Algeria are rightfully denounced), he presaged--but could not formulate, alas-- a left-libertarianism opposed to both western capitalism and Stalinist totalitarianism. Had he had more time perhaps he could have seen beyond the rim of his own experiences and written truly political texts later in life.
One of the biggest revelations of this biography is that Camus' writing is not political or philosophical but rather moral, nearly religious. As a disaffected teen with no real entry point into leftist politics or critical theory Camus was an important first step. His central premises (that knowledge is partial, that the human condition (and society, as an extension of that condition) is absurd, and that the universe is empty and uncaring) are necessary antecedents to the development of critical inquiry and necessary antidotes to a reactionary, religious upbringing. Perhaps we should reframe Camus as one of the few writers who truly lived what he wrote--his politics, his art, and his life were all gloriously incomplete, with vast silences filling the spaces he could not figure out how to bridge.
May 26, 2020
Work complements Alice Kaplan’s Biography of The Stranger
An excellent literary criticism of Camus The Stranger, I was impressed by the breadth of the analysis. Most important it was a fun read. Will need to read more by this author.
An excellent literary criticism of Camus The Stranger, I was impressed by the breadth of the analysis. Most important it was a fun read. Will need to read more by this author.
October 23, 2022
Super copy of victor hugo’s dernière jour d un condamné lol
July 9, 2007
This book appealed greatly to my 17 year old nihilistic self. There is no meaning but that which we can hear, touch, see, smell, or taste. The protagonist can be understood as a mirror to the reader, as he himself expresses very few emotions, and is mostly described in terms of physical sensations, reinforcing the message of the novel.
May 21, 2007
i realize this is the study guide... i realize. however, i liked the book... it brings a sense of distance and fury. the character can only feel the moment and he can't explain what that moment is. he gets damned for it. shit.
March 2, 2007
he felt no pitty .no pitty for losing his girlfriend,her dead lonely mum ,no pity for life ... being numb
April 7, 2007
This is an amazing book. One of my favorites!
August 31, 2008
Read this junior year of high school and then again this past year. I was not exposed to much when younger, and thought this was crazy in high school. Now it is just interesting. I enjoyed it.
August 17, 2009
Absurd.
January 31, 2016
4.5/5
Actually, i've read this before, but thought i hadn't finished it. Turns out i did. In any case, an amusing work.
Actually, i've read this before, but thought i hadn't finished it. Turns out i did. In any case, an amusing work.
June 28, 2007
one of my all time favorites
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews