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A review by juicebox
Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
The influence of Sartre is clear to see. I was struck most by the sheer honesty of the writing.
I felt the opening quarter of the book was the strongest, with many resonant views and incisive observations on the human condition.
The middle section felt a bit wayward to me with glimmers of brilliance, but long passes of banal commentary and description.
The novel was revived again towards the end with some renewed momentum brought by the delayed introduction of Anny. The eventual closing of some loops for the protagonist led to an oddly optimistic conclusion.
One message I took was in his writing of history, the protagonist was missing the point of life. He wanted something to happen to him, for their to be a point to things, a moment of revelation. Life doesn't work this way and in recording the facts of history he is trapped in the past. Only be exploring fiction and absurdity can he challenge the inanity of life.
I felt the opening quarter of the book was the strongest, with many resonant views and incisive observations on the human condition.
The middle section felt a bit wayward to me with glimmers of brilliance, but long passes of banal commentary and description.
The novel was revived again towards the end with some renewed momentum brought by the delayed introduction of Anny. The eventual closing of some loops for the protagonist led to an oddly optimistic conclusion.
One message I took was in his writing of history, the protagonist was missing the point of life. He wanted something to happen to him, for their to be a point to things, a moment of revelation. Life doesn't work this way and in recording the facts of history he is trapped in the past. Only be exploring fiction and absurdity can he challenge the inanity of life.