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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The narrator’s unreliability makes it difficult to parse exactly what Camus is saying about morality (I can see The Fall, like Paradise Lost, being used to both condemn and justify oppression), but his ramblings are strangely compelling. Nick Carraway from The Great Gatsby came to mind, as did Patrick Bateman. Scattered references to World War II seem key, evoking a society haunted by violence. Ten years later, Europe hadn’t risen from the ashes so much as swept them under the rug; like our narrator, it has a knack for forgetting things.
dark
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What an incredible short story. It is told as a one sided conversation told over five nights, it almost feels as if we are in the bar having this conversation with a stranger. Jean Baptiste tells us his interpretation of his life and the conclusions he drew from it. In this story of his life he starts out by seeing himself as a good person and by the end he sees himself as bad. Through some transformative incidents in his life he feels as if the eyes of judgement are upon him. Instead of working through these feelings of guilt he leans into hedonism and judges everyone around him. He talks repeatedly around wanting to be physically and metaphorically above others and so despite what he does he must always change his view of the world and others so he can still see himself as above. If he is evil, everyone must be evil. But he is still above them because at least he’s aware of his own nature. The book is more than just interesting because of the story of philosophical themes, it is compellingly written. You feel like you are caught up in a deeply revealing, lively, engaging conversation with someone.
This book certainly had an unrivalled writing style, certainly a new experience for me. Jean-Baptiste seems very much like me but I don't wish to grow into him. He seems under the influence or drunk while he's talking to his acquaintance. I understand the character, my soul deeply resonates with what he says, some true and some false that he says. I have certainly been changed by this book, like my eyes see the world for what it is and with newer colours. It's a great reading experience, to say the least. Would read again.
challenging
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“The case for the prosecution is over, while at the same time the portrait that I offer my contemporaries becomes a mirror.”
That sentence stopped my heart. Clamence’s description of himself terrified me in what it suggested about myself, and it turns out that was all on purpose. What a brilliant reflection on the human condition…
To find your darkest and most secret worries written across the page… it’s comforting and scary to think we may all share those feelings.
That sentence stopped my heart. Clamence’s description of himself terrified me in what it suggested about myself, and it turns out that was all on purpose. What a brilliant reflection on the human condition…
To find your darkest and most secret worries written across the page… it’s comforting and scary to think we may all share those feelings.
good, but i feel like camus had an idea he wanted to get on paper without actually thinking of any rational way to put it into a story context. as such, it's like a one sided conversation with a crazy guy at a bar who makes a decent point every now and then. or karl pilkington.
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Get a load of this guy!