hallieofdeath 's review for:

Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre

4.25

challenging 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: Complicated

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Sartre’s Nausea is such a complicated novel to discuss - it is so layered and philosophical, that reading it just the once does not feel like enough to be able to review or discuss it. The novel can be viewed from so many different standpoints, be representative of so many things, and carry so many messages and meanings. Nausea fits perfectly among other existentialist fiction, such as Camus’ The Stranger, Kafka’s The Trial, and Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, yet separates itself from these texts as it almost reads as an extended, fictionalised essay. Sartre deconstructs existence as we know it to such a great extent that the reader is left not just to think, but to process existence itself.  As a novel, the first half drags, but it picks up immensely once Roquentin’s viewpoints and philosophy become more clearly defined.