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آلبر کامو: عناصر یک زندگی

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آلبر کامو: عناصر یک زندگی، حاصل پژوهش و تلاش رابرت زارتسکی است برای درک سکوت کامو (در زندگی و آثارش) و کشف پیوند این سکوت با رویدادهای زندگی او، و از میان این کندوکاوهاست که جلوه‌های جدیدی از اندیشه‌های آفرینندهٔ بیگانه و طاعون پیش روی‌مان پدیدار می‌شود.

وقتی به دیگران توجه می‌کنیم، اغلب به جای حرف زدن گوش می‌کنیم. بنابراین رویِ دیگر سکهٔ توجه کردن، سکوت است. توانایی هنری کامو و اخلاق‌مداری‌اش تا حدی با چنین سکوت‌هایی بیان می‌شوند. سکوت‌هایی هستند که چون سراب در چشم‌انداز عریان الجزایر موج می‌زنند و سکوت‌هایی هستند که بسیاری از شخصیت‌های کامو، هم‌چنان که به دنیا توجه می‌کنند، در آن‌ها غرق‌اند.

تأکید کامو بر سکوت، در هنر و در سیاستش، بازتابی از ارادهٔ او برای حمایت از دیگران بود، دیگرانی که به شیوه‌های گوناگون محکوم به سکوت شده بودند…

199 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

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About the author

Robert Zaretsky

18 books46 followers
Robert Zaretsky is a literary biographer and historian of France. He is Professor of Humanities at the Honors College, University of Houston, and the author of many books, including A Life Worth Living: Albert Camus and the Quest for Meaning and Boswell’s Enlightenment. Zaretsky is the history editor for the Los Angeles Review of Books, a regular columnist for The Forward, and a frequent contributor to The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and Foreign Policy.

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5 stars
62 (36%)
4 stars
70 (41%)
3 stars
30 (17%)
2 stars
7 (4%)
1 star
1 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
Profile Image for T.R. Preston.
Author 6 books188 followers
January 27, 2025
I'm always pleased to learn more about one of my heroes. I plan to one day make a history podcast about historical figures. Each episode will be a different famous name. The first episode might have to be Camus.
Profile Image for Martyn.
382 reviews42 followers
April 28, 2013
This should be a four really, there were moments of "what Camus meant to say was" from the author, which I found distracting, but I was swept up by the brilliant epilogue and the way that the book finished so that marking it down was merely nit-picking.

I loved the form that the author chose for his work, that of selecting a crucial moment from Camus' life for each of the four chapters; it gave focus to an otherwise unwieldy subject. Besides which, I've read several books on Camus and I never really felt as close to the man and his philosophical development as I do after reading this.

Another reviewer has mentioned that it's far too short of a book and I agree, I would have liked to carry on reading, which I guess is the sign of a good book anyway.
Profile Image for anna.
86 reviews28 followers
February 18, 2020
Camus is ...... Hot

Usually I don't read biographies, esp not for dead old philosophers but this was ok
Good length for someone just casually interested in Camus as a person and has encountered his ideas b4
I liked this book. I thought it was ok. Not a long-time fave but it was ok
Profile Image for James Myers.
59 reviews3 followers
November 27, 2013
This was a thoroughly satisfying read. It is a brief but rich biography of Albert Camus, a revolutionary and moralist who, had I discovered years ago, may well have changed the course of my life. It documents his sad childhood in Tangiers, his rise to fame in WWI and his work in the Kabyle, his exile in France, his dealings in the Resistance and friendship turned sour with Sartre. It also touched on his philosophy and explained the autobiographical nature of his novels. For the uninitiated to Camus, this is an exceptional starting point. It's all I can do not to go buy all of his books right now.
69 reviews6 followers
April 21, 2011
An amazing biography that goes into Camus' philosophical development. My only complaint was that it was far too short.
Profile Image for Mbogo J.
467 reviews30 followers
March 1, 2019
The short review for this is me putting my left hand on my heart and raising my right saying in Camus, I believe

That review might seem profound at first but once the shock factor wears off, a dispassionate reader will look at it and accuse me of being one of those men Galileo's father warned him against. The men who hide behind great names, who have nothing to contribute but just regurgitating old ideas. I do not number among them.

The reason I admire Camus so much (he ranks number 1 among the intellectuals I respect ergo the King of Intellectuals and Leader of the First Men) is because the thoughts I pegged as most personal and most profound, that occurred to me at my most difficult moments or in the quiet recesses of my contemplation, Camus had thought about them about a millennia back. He had even expanded on them beyond my initial one liners. This same effect occurs to me when I come across something on Reddit which I thought of independently and there are no words that can explain the motions I go through. It shows that no one has monopoly over knowledge. It reveals itself to anyone who earnestly searches for it and we celebrate the brave souls who came before us and searched for it and the ones who continue and will continue with the quest.

This book was divinely written. It has that seamless mix of content, prose and ideas kind of like the feeling of tasting the first scoop of Neopolitan ice cream on a hot afternoon... that's the taste of truth!Thank You Zaretsky for writing this gem. Mostly recommended to Camus fans.
89 reviews15 followers
May 26, 2020
This short book is an excllent guide to Camus’ thought and philosophy and is particularly helpful in elucidating how important events in his life influenced his thinking or illustrated how his thinking influenced his action. I enjoyed the way the author was able to weave Camus’ writing and biographical anecdotes together to make his points about the origins and substance of Camus' philosophy of life and his approach to writing.
3 reviews
June 20, 2017
A "semi-biography," the author presents Camus' complex life, lived - so briefly - by an extremely complex man; yet the reader, at first baffled by Camus' apparent conflicting political decisions, by the end this essay the author has brought into incredible clarity Camus' philosophy.
Profile Image for Saba.
16 reviews4 followers
May 16, 2021
«به خاطر سکوتی که بر زندگی هایمان سایه می افکند، باید با خودمان و برای خودمان، با دیگران و برای دیگران، حرف بزنیم.این کار را نه در مقابله با سکوت که برای بخشیدن صدایی به سکوت انجام می دهیم.» -از متن کتاب
Profile Image for Drewdog.
14 reviews4 followers
November 8, 2024
I’ve read The Plague and Camus personal writings but this offers another insight into Camus mind during what can arguably be the biggest moments of his life. I recommend this for anyone interested in Camus.
Profile Image for Marita Gayoso.
51 reviews3 followers
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April 7, 2021
Brilliant essay. It is important to pay attention to the "silence" in the life of Camus, at the beginning of the book (Regarding Camus) Not only to understand him but to enjoy the beautiful epilogue.
Profile Image for Roghayeh Khosravizadeh.
6 reviews
November 6, 2021
اگر به آثار کامو علاقه مند هستین خوندن این کتاب کمک میکنه که دریافت بهتری از آثارش داشته باشین و بیشتر به ابعاد اخلاق گرایی این نویسنده پی ببرین.
Profile Image for Rodolfo Borges.
252 reviews3 followers
October 22, 2022
O autor analisa o Camus político sob a perspectiva de sua atuação (e posterior silêncio) na questão colonial argelina.
Profile Image for John.
49 reviews
May 4, 2021
wonderful essay on Camus - very much worth the read for anyone interested in learning more about him.
Profile Image for Dale Pobega.
49 reviews4 followers
March 31, 2014
I look at the long - the usually very long - biographies on my shelves about other writers awaiting my attention, and thank Robert Zaretsky for his brevity and focus on key moments - "elements in the life" of Albert Camus.


I particularly liked the section about the formation of Camus' early political and philosophical ideas on his trip to the impoverished region of Kabilya in the 30s, the discussion of his turn about on the position of the collaborationist writer, Robert Brasillach who went to the gallows in the 40s, and the fascinating falling out between Camus and Sartre in the 50s.


This and so much more achieved in less than 200 pages. A great biography and easy read.
Profile Image for Sirin Nabokov.
42 reviews15 followers
January 14, 2016
Decent if superficial view of a complex man

I wish this writer had plumbed more depth and detail of the life of this important man. It is very good and elucidating however it feels incomplete. Perhaps it reflects the man himself.
Profile Image for Sara Rowe.
Author 8 books15 followers
October 7, 2013
Gave me an entirely new understanding and love of Camus.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews

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