Falling and not laughing

The Fall by Albert Camus

A short but extremely powerful book. It's one of those I had been meaning to read for years but never quite got round to it. Jean–Baptiste Clamence, the 'judge–penitent', relates his recent reflections on life, existence and humanity to a chance acquaintance in an Amsterdam bar.

The monologue, despite its brevity and superficial directness contains an extraordinary range of ideas, built around a single incident on a Paris riverbank. The writing (and translation) is excellent and engaging and there is real depth here. I think it requires more than just one reading and must do so again soon.

Highly recommended.

: 16 Jul 2006 10:59 |  Tags: Book Review |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem