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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The First Man is a novel I first read and fell in love with more than 20 years ago so I came back to it to see if it still felt the same to me (spoiler: it does). Camus’ mostly autobiographical story tells the story of a young boy growing up in Algiers in a poor family and absent a father who died early in his life. In both writing style and richness of detail, Camus is a wonderful writer and the novel is a pleasure to read. The fondness Camus had for his childhood and family spills out onto the page creating scenes that are both interesting and heartwarming. In its unfinished nature, it’s a bittersweet read. There’s quite a few tonal shifts and parts that would have been cleaned up in editing that give the novel some rough edges but that adds rather than detracts from the charm. The notes included in the end only give the slightest indication of where Camus was intending to go but hint at its eventual epic scope. However even as a partial novel there’s enough richness and love to be one of my favorites.
60/100
Hard to judge an unfinished novel that was found in the wreckage of the car crash that killed him
Hard to judge an unfinished novel that was found in the wreckage of the car crash that killed him
challenging
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
This was an interesting reading experience, beyond just what a book might offer. The fact this work was unfinished - and includes notes and comments from Camus himself - makes this a kind of surreal experience. On the one hand, sometimes the narrative slides into contemplation that seems almost entirely disjoint from the narrative, perhaps the writer just working things out. On the other hand, the commentary offers a view of other possibilities, of the other ways this story could have been.
I wonder, if in an unintentional way, this adds to the meaning of the book.
I wonder, if in an unintentional way, this adds to the meaning of the book.
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes