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Outsider/Plague/Fall/Exile & the Kingdom
Două romane celebre conţine această carte, alături de o serie de mici bijuterii narative, numite povestiri, toate ale unui autor care i-a fermecat până şi pe sfincşii care acordă premiul Nobel... Străinul descrie o crimă şi goliciunea omului în faţa unei situaţii absurde. Ciuma - o parabolă perfectă, complexă, a solidarătăţii umane în faţa nenorocirii. Căderea - un monolog absurd al unui individ care trăieşte fără speranţă. Exilul şi împărăţia - un univers în care graniţa dintre ficţiune şi realitate nu e vizibilă, ceea ce face cu atât mai atrăgătoare lectura.
About the author
Albert Camus
984 books40.3k followersWorks, 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
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
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
February 2, 2023
This review is for The Plague
I stated earlier that reading this book in 2023 it’s impossible to ignore the similarities to the pandemic Camus writes about and the Covid pandemic we’ve only recently emerged from. Diseases may differ but pandemics look the same.
This is a book of two things: death and love.
💀🐀It begins like a horror story with thousands of rats 🐀 emerging from their nooks and crannies and dying in agony and gouts of blood. Then all seems well once most of them are dead after weeks have gone by. The city relaxes and breathes easy once more. And, of course, that’s when the killer strikes again, and now it’s the people who are dying like rats.
Once the city is quarantined from the world the pace of the book slows down. It becomes more philosophical as characters ponder why God - if there is a God - permits pestilence and mass death and acute human suffering. Is love enough? Is love even possible? Or is nothing stronger than pain and death? Two of the main protagonists in the story, the priest and the doctor, often debate these things while the doctor carries on trying to save as many from the plague as he can.
It is a slower moving tale than, say, The Outsider. That’s because The Plague is longer and has many more questions. It is definitely for the reader who is in a more reflective mood and prepared to dwell for a time on some of the most crucial dilemmas of human existence.
Yet this is all dressed up in story and a plethora of fascinating characters who have their own struggles and go through their own changes as the Black Death continues to devour thousands.
✍🏻 Camus’s writing is strong yet still both delicate and intricate.
I stated earlier that reading this book in 2023 it’s impossible to ignore the similarities to the pandemic Camus writes about and the Covid pandemic we’ve only recently emerged from. Diseases may differ but pandemics look the same.
This is a book of two things: death and love.
💀🐀It begins like a horror story with thousands of rats 🐀 emerging from their nooks and crannies and dying in agony and gouts of blood. Then all seems well once most of them are dead after weeks have gone by. The city relaxes and breathes easy once more. And, of course, that’s when the killer strikes again, and now it’s the people who are dying like rats.
Once the city is quarantined from the world the pace of the book slows down. It becomes more philosophical as characters ponder why God - if there is a God - permits pestilence and mass death and acute human suffering. Is love enough? Is love even possible? Or is nothing stronger than pain and death? Two of the main protagonists in the story, the priest and the doctor, often debate these things while the doctor carries on trying to save as many from the plague as he can.
It is a slower moving tale than, say, The Outsider. That’s because The Plague is longer and has many more questions. It is definitely for the reader who is in a more reflective mood and prepared to dwell for a time on some of the most crucial dilemmas of human existence.
Yet this is all dressed up in story and a plethora of fascinating characters who have their own struggles and go through their own changes as the Black Death continues to devour thousands.
✍🏻 Camus’s writing is strong yet still both delicate and intricate.
March 23, 2021
De departe, "Ciuma" a fost o lectură antrenantă, dar și dureroasă. Asemenea locuitorilor din Oran, noi încă suntem prinși, de un an, în mrejele acestei boli care nu dă semne de încetare. Nici "Străinul" nu mi-a displăcut, dintre povestirile din "Exilul și împărăția", "Oaspetele" mi-a trezit amintiri nostalgice.
"Cum să-ți poți închipui, de pildă, un oraș fără porumbei, fără arbori și grădini, unde nu auzi nici bătăi de aripi, nici foșnet de frunze, un loc neutru, ca să spunem tot?"
"Concetățenii noștri muncesc mult, dar totdeauna doar ca să se îmbogățească. Sunt interesați, mai ales, de comerț și, în primul rând, chiar după cum spun ei, să facă afaceri. Firește, au și slăbiciunea bucuriilor simple, iubesc femeile, cinematograful și băile în mare. Dar, foarte înțelept, ei păstrează aceste plăceri pentru sâmbătă seara și duminică, încercând, în celelalte zile ale săptămânii, să câștige mulți bani."
"Cum să-ți poți închipui, de pildă, un oraș fără porumbei, fără arbori și grădini, unde nu auzi nici bătăi de aripi, nici foșnet de frunze, un loc neutru, ca să spunem tot?"
"Concetățenii noștri muncesc mult, dar totdeauna doar ca să se îmbogățească. Sunt interesați, mai ales, de comerț și, în primul rând, chiar după cum spun ei, să facă afaceri. Firește, au și slăbiciunea bucuriilor simple, iubesc femeile, cinematograful și băile în mare. Dar, foarte înțelept, ei păstrează aceste plăceri pentru sâmbătă seara și duminică, încercând, în celelalte zile ale săptămânii, să câștige mulți bani."
December 31, 2020
Am luat cartea cu gandul de a citi “Ciuma” si atat. Din intamplare am dat peste primele fraze din “Strainul” si m-am decis pe loc sa il citesc. Asta se intampla in vara chiar dupa decesul soacrei. Apoi a urmat “Ciuma”. Apoi a fost o pauza lunga de cateva luni presarata cu multe alte carti.
Acum la finalul anului 2020 am revenit la Camus. E un exercitiu interesant sa il citesti pe Camus la cumpana dintre ani, mai ales la finalul unui an precum 2020.
Acum la finalul anului 2020 am revenit la Camus. E un exercitiu interesant sa il citesti pe Camus la cumpana dintre ani, mai ales la finalul unui an precum 2020.
January 13, 2014
Read the Outsider only...
I am glad that this novel is short as it certainly gives you a lot to think about and to take in – it was not a book I read over to cover in one evening. I had to savour, digest and think long and hard about the themes that came up. For example, the characters rejection of normality with his acquaintances and even his own mother shocks you but yet raises the essential question of why we have a bond with certain people in our lives but not with others? Certainly, Camus simplistic way of writing holds your attention but yet makes you uncomfortable as you ponder your own morality and that of the society around you.
Meursault, the main character of this novel is an unusual character that comes from a widely different way of thinking. His outlook on life is obtuse and widely different from your average person.
Meursault makes me smile in certain parts of the book as his lack of hang ups and living in the moment ideology really raises eyebrows but he can be annoying with his laid back, almost unfeeling way of being. He angered me with his callousness toward some, especially toward the violence shown to Raymond’s girlfriend.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed the way Meursault talks directly to you as if you are in the room with him and makes no apologies for who he is or what he does – he expects you to accept him and if you don’t then that’s OK too – his honesty is refreshing at some points. In a way, you almost admire him for his ability to live in the moment and being free to be who he wants to be.
I am glad that this novel is short as it certainly gives you a lot to think about and to take in – it was not a book I read over to cover in one evening. I had to savour, digest and think long and hard about the themes that came up. For example, the characters rejection of normality with his acquaintances and even his own mother shocks you but yet raises the essential question of why we have a bond with certain people in our lives but not with others? Certainly, Camus simplistic way of writing holds your attention but yet makes you uncomfortable as you ponder your own morality and that of the society around you.
Meursault, the main character of this novel is an unusual character that comes from a widely different way of thinking. His outlook on life is obtuse and widely different from your average person.
Meursault makes me smile in certain parts of the book as his lack of hang ups and living in the moment ideology really raises eyebrows but he can be annoying with his laid back, almost unfeeling way of being. He angered me with his callousness toward some, especially toward the violence shown to Raymond’s girlfriend.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed the way Meursault talks directly to you as if you are in the room with him and makes no apologies for who he is or what he does – he expects you to accept him and if you don’t then that’s OK too – his honesty is refreshing at some points. In a way, you almost admire him for his ability to live in the moment and being free to be who he wants to be.
July 7, 2020
Always happy to meet again :) and again, and again, periodically.
Read
December 19, 2020Singura carte pe care am putut-o citi la începutul pandemiei...
November 7, 2023
„Ca să nu mai fii îndoielnic, trebuie să nu mai fii, pur și simplu.”
December 16, 2023
Mi-a plăcut Străinul, dar nu mă pot împrieteni cu stilul.
,,Nu mi-a plăcut niciodată să fiu luat prin surprindere. Când mi se întâmplă ceva, prefer să fiu de față."
,,Primăvara se anunță numai prin calitatea aerului, sau prin coșurile de flori pe care mici vânzători le aduc prin împrejurimi; e o primăvară care se vinde prin piețe."
,,Bărbații și femeile fie că se devoră rapid în ceea ce se cheamă actul dragostei, fie că se lasă prinși într-o lungă obișnuință în doi."
,,Întrebare: cum să faci să nu-ți pierzi timpul? Răspuns: să-l resimți pe toată durata lui."
,,un război este desigur prea stupid, dar asta nu-l împiedică să dureze."
,,Și cum un om mort nu are preț decât dacă l-ai văzut mort, o sută de milioane de cadavre semănate de-a lungul istoriei nu sunt în închipuire decât un fum."
,,Cu toți se întâmplă la fel: te însori, iubirea mai durează puțin, muncești. Muncești atât de mult încât uiți să mai iubești."
,,se întâmplă să suferi multă vreme fără să știi."
,,Nu sunt fericită că plec, dar nu e nevoie să fii fericit ca s-o iei de la capăt."
,,Răul care este în lume vine aproape întotdeauna din ignoranță, și bunele intenții, dacă nu sunt luminate de conștiință, pot să facă tot atâtea stricăciuni ca și răutatea."
,,- ... Acuma știu că omul este capabil de fapte mari. Dar dacă nu este capabil de un sentiment mare, atunci nu mă interesează.
- Se pare că este capabil de orice, spuse Tarou.
- Ba nu, este incapabil să sufere sau să fie fericit multă vreme. Nu este prin urmare capabil de nimic de seamă."
,,la oameni este totdeauna posibil controlul."
,,obișnuința disperării este mai rea decât disperarea însăși."
,,Sentimentul că ești în dreptul tău, mulțumirea de a avea dreptate, bucuria de a te stima pe tine însuți sunt, dragă domnule, tot atâtea resorturi puternice care ne ajută să rezistăm sau să mergem înainte. Dimpotrivă, dacă-i lipsești pe oameni de aceste sentimente, îi vezi cum se preschimbă în câini furioși."
,,Nu, în prietenul care tocmai ne-a părăsit iubim doar mortul de curând dus la groapă, moartea dureroasă, emoția noastră, pe scurt, pe noi înșine!"
,,Să poruncești e ca și cum ai respira, nu credeți? Până și cei mai nenorociți ajung să respire."
,,Numai propria-ți moarte îi convinge pe oameni de temeinicia motivelor tale, de sinceritatea ta, de adâncimea sufeinței tale. Atâta vreme cât trăiești, cazul tău e îndoielnic, n-ai dreptul decât la scepticismul lor."
,,Fericirea și succesele nu se iartă decât atunci când consimți să le împarți din plin cu alții. Dar ca să fii fericit trebuie să nu te ocupi prea mult de ceilalți... Nu ai de ales decât între a fi fericit, dar judecat, sau iertat, dar nefericit."
,,lipsa durerii nu-i oare totuna cu bucuria..."
,,Nu mi-a plăcut niciodată să fiu luat prin surprindere. Când mi se întâmplă ceva, prefer să fiu de față."
,,Primăvara se anunță numai prin calitatea aerului, sau prin coșurile de flori pe care mici vânzători le aduc prin împrejurimi; e o primăvară care se vinde prin piețe."
,,Bărbații și femeile fie că se devoră rapid în ceea ce se cheamă actul dragostei, fie că se lasă prinși într-o lungă obișnuință în doi."
,,Întrebare: cum să faci să nu-ți pierzi timpul? Răspuns: să-l resimți pe toată durata lui."
,,un război este desigur prea stupid, dar asta nu-l împiedică să dureze."
,,Și cum un om mort nu are preț decât dacă l-ai văzut mort, o sută de milioane de cadavre semănate de-a lungul istoriei nu sunt în închipuire decât un fum."
,,Cu toți se întâmplă la fel: te însori, iubirea mai durează puțin, muncești. Muncești atât de mult încât uiți să mai iubești."
,,se întâmplă să suferi multă vreme fără să știi."
,,Nu sunt fericită că plec, dar nu e nevoie să fii fericit ca s-o iei de la capăt."
,,Răul care este în lume vine aproape întotdeauna din ignoranță, și bunele intenții, dacă nu sunt luminate de conștiință, pot să facă tot atâtea stricăciuni ca și răutatea."
,,- ... Acuma știu că omul este capabil de fapte mari. Dar dacă nu este capabil de un sentiment mare, atunci nu mă interesează.
- Se pare că este capabil de orice, spuse Tarou.
- Ba nu, este incapabil să sufere sau să fie fericit multă vreme. Nu este prin urmare capabil de nimic de seamă."
,,la oameni este totdeauna posibil controlul."
,,obișnuința disperării este mai rea decât disperarea însăși."
,,Sentimentul că ești în dreptul tău, mulțumirea de a avea dreptate, bucuria de a te stima pe tine însuți sunt, dragă domnule, tot atâtea resorturi puternice care ne ajută să rezistăm sau să mergem înainte. Dimpotrivă, dacă-i lipsești pe oameni de aceste sentimente, îi vezi cum se preschimbă în câini furioși."
,,Nu, în prietenul care tocmai ne-a părăsit iubim doar mortul de curând dus la groapă, moartea dureroasă, emoția noastră, pe scurt, pe noi înșine!"
,,Să poruncești e ca și cum ai respira, nu credeți? Până și cei mai nenorociți ajung să respire."
,,Numai propria-ți moarte îi convinge pe oameni de temeinicia motivelor tale, de sinceritatea ta, de adâncimea sufeinței tale. Atâta vreme cât trăiești, cazul tău e îndoielnic, n-ai dreptul decât la scepticismul lor."
,,Fericirea și succesele nu se iartă decât atunci când consimți să le împarți din plin cu alții. Dar ca să fii fericit trebuie să nu te ocupi prea mult de ceilalți... Nu ai de ales decât între a fi fericit, dar judecat, sau iertat, dar nefericit."
,,lipsa durerii nu-i oare totuna cu bucuria..."
July 27, 2015
!!This review is only about 'The Outsider', but i couldn't find an edition of it alone on here!!
Okay. This book is only 118 pages long, so a lot of depth had to be put into a short story. In the beginning I wasn't quite sure about the writing style and I was wondering if it had anything to do with being a translation. It is written in very short sentences, which incredibly frustrates me in general, but I do have to admit, in this case there was a point to it and it really did accentuate the narrator's character.
I did feel like the book could have or maybe should have been longer as to establish the story better as i felt it was very abrupt and confusing as nothing ever got expanded on. I suppose that was the attention of the author, but I felt there was more potential there.
I did like the narrator and the point the book was making - that we have a preconceived expectation of 'normal' behaviour in society and cannot deal with someone who does not fit the criteria, thus labeling them 'Outsider'.
There were a lot of truths spoken by the narrator and i could identify with him a lot, which probably doesn't speak in my favour, but oh well...
In conclusion - I liked the moral of the story, but I wish it would've been longer.
Okay. This book is only 118 pages long, so a lot of depth had to be put into a short story. In the beginning I wasn't quite sure about the writing style and I was wondering if it had anything to do with being a translation. It is written in very short sentences, which incredibly frustrates me in general, but I do have to admit, in this case there was a point to it and it really did accentuate the narrator's character.
I did feel like the book could have or maybe should have been longer as to establish the story better as i felt it was very abrupt and confusing as nothing ever got expanded on. I suppose that was the attention of the author, but I felt there was more potential there.
I did like the narrator and the point the book was making - that we have a preconceived expectation of 'normal' behaviour in society and cannot deal with someone who does not fit the criteria, thus labeling them 'Outsider'.
There were a lot of truths spoken by the narrator and i could identify with him a lot, which probably doesn't speak in my favour, but oh well...
In conclusion - I liked the moral of the story, but I wish it would've been longer.
February 26, 2025
I liked The Adulterous Woman and The Artist at Work the best of all the stories! The Silent Men was very good! I did a little research to see what the people were saying too but I thought there was a theme of isolation vs community and religion as something practiced as is our nature, outside of institution (Camus doesn’t seem to fw institutions point blank?- I don’t know!). Very relevant, very enjoyable!
February 6, 2024
"Oamenii sunt (...) mai mult sau mai puțin neștiutori și asta e ceea ce se cheamă virtute sau viciu, viciul cel mai de fără de speranță fiind cel al ignoranței, care crede că știe tot și își permite atunci să omoare."
January 16, 2022
Great perspective on the pandemic meaning... And a fatalist one :-) no spoilers, he kinda knew what awaits us.
April 5, 2023
The Stranger is a very good story but the others things are great only for the style, you can't link anything as the story.
September 19, 2023
Străinul 1 stele.
Ciuma 5 stele.
Căderea 1 stele.
Exilul şi Împărăția 3 stele.
Ciuma 5 stele.
Căderea 1 stele.
Exilul şi Împărăția 3 stele.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews