DOCSLIB.ORG

Number 30 a Stranger Again

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Number 30 a Stranger Again hamIsh hamIlToN preseNTs Five Dials Number 30 A Stranger Again The Camus Issue — CurTIs GIllespIe The Complicated Legacy Deborah levy The Death Drive alberT Camus Summer in Algiers . Plus: rotated, distorted, warped street art & Camus’s handwriting. CONTRIBUTORS alberT Camus was born in Mondovi, Algeria, in 1913. An avid sportsman, Camus claimed to have learned all he knew about morality and the obligations of men from football. He preferred to write whilst standing up and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957. While on a trip to the United States, Camus visited the New York Zoo twenty times. He was also the owner of a cat called Cigarette. CurTIs GIllespIe is the author of five books, including the memoirsAlmost There and Playing Through, and the novel Crown Shyness. Gillespie has won three National Magazine Awards in Canada for his writing on politics, science and the arts. In 2010 he co-founded the award-winning narrative journalism magazine Eighteen Bridges, which he also edits. Like Camus, he was a football goalkeeper. He played for the University of Alberta in the early eighties. Deborah levy is the author of many works, including, Billy & Girl, The Unloved and Swallowing Geography. In 2012 her novel Swimming Home was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Having trained at Darlington College of Arts, she left to become a playwright, creating work for the Royal Shakespeare Company among others. Levy was a Fellow in Creative Arts at Trinity College, Cambridge. Her most recent essay, Things I Don’t Want to Know is a response to George Orwell’s Why I Write and her next novel, Hot Milk,will be published by Hamish Hamilton in 2015. — Editor: CraIG Taylor Publisher: sImoN prosser Assistant Editor: aNNa Kelly Five Dials staffers: remI Graves, Noel o’reGaN, marIssa CheN, sam buChaN-WaTTs, paul TuCKer, JamIe FeWery, ellIe smITh, CarolINe preTTy, JaKob voN baeyer, emma easy Thanks to: sam voulTers, NaTalIe WIllIams, paul marTINovIC Design and art direction: aNToNIo De luCa sTuDIo, berlIN Unless otherwise noted, illustrations by: Zoo proJeCT @fivedials @hamishh1931 a leTTer From The eDITor On Tony, on Dean, on Camus, on Algiers he illustrations adorning Five Dials summer in Algiers by Camus himself. often making last-minute changes from T30 came to us via a circuitous route. De Luca digitally erased the creep- the various high-speed trains of southern They were spray-painted on walls and ing vines and cracked concrete of the France. He made the final changes to our tunnels and bits of concrete in Paris by surrounding Parisian landscape. ‘I then Paris issue while sitting at the Le Petit a collective of Algerian-French artists began to isolate the line work from its Chatelet on rue de la Bûcherie, steps away known as the Zoo Project. Antonio de surface and the surrounding context. In a from Shakespeare and Company, while Luca, who takes over as Five Dials art sense,’ he says, ‘it’s like restoring a mural.’ our copy-editor, Ellie, sat to his left with director in this issue, lives for most of the Street art is always being transformed, her red pen and told him to delete and year in Berlin, but while close up. We finished in visiting Paris not too long time for the launch, though ago he spent time in a cafe Dean’s laptop almost called Chez Jeannette in the knocked the wine glass 9th and began to notice the from the table. He was surrounding graffiti. ‘The there in Cornwall when we 9th is primarily an area of launched an issue as the sun French-speaking immi- set behind the Five Dials grants,’ he says, ‘including stage at the Port Eliot Festi- many from north-west val. (Laetitia Sadier pressed Africa. The 18th is the the button of his laptop.) same. I remember seeing He is responsible for the Zoo Project murals in those sparse white glow of the areas and figured they were magazine, and because done by those of Algerian Dean is a text aficionado, descent.’ He researched he ensured the blocks of online and came across words on each page were more of their work. The always beautifully weight- collective is mysterious; ed. He is a book guy, but photos of new work only he’s also a tech guy, and we occasionally spring up. For wish him all the best as he de Luca, the patterns, the throws himself back into giant bird heads, the repeti- that particular world. Great tion of symbols, the ratio advancements can come between figures and surface from small towns in France. area all resemble ancient Over the years, Dean has Egyptian hieroglyphic gods, been one of our stronger both hieratic and demotic. French connections. We He was drawn to what he calls ‘the can- erased, reshaped. Through photography, have another. With this issue we’ve been nibalistic narratives’ of the pieces, as well some of the Zoo Project murals have given the chance to celebrate our French as the strong graphic line of the work. been preserved. In some cases he needed hero, Albert Camus. The pressing ques- ‘Only later,’ he says, ‘did I understand that two or three photos of the same piece tion over the last few months has been: the pieces were social commentaries.’ to restore the image. ‘I skewed,’ says de how? What’s left to be said about his Years ago, while working at The Walrus Luca. ‘I distorted, rotated, scaled, warped, centenary? Robert Zaretsky focused on magazine as its first creative director, de merged and modified the aspect ratio to Camus’s relationship with his mother Luca isolated graffiti from the walls of achieve an even surface. I wanted to make in his essay in the LA Review of Books. other cities. This time he collected photo- it look like the reader was standing dead In the Times Higher Education section, graphs of Zoo Project murals that com- centre, staring straight on.’ Matthew Feldman reminded us ‘he plemented the themes of the three pieces If we’re welcoming a new art director, should be remembered as a leading in our issue: reportage by Curtis Gillespie we also must take a moment to celebrate twentieth-century intellectual, not sim- from the streets of Algiers; an A-Z of our outgoing friend and colleague, Dean ply humanism’s favourite quote genera- the death drive written by the novelist Allen, who was here from the beginning tor.’ Over on Public Radio International, Deborah Levy; and some reflections on and guided us through the first 29 issues, Claire Messud said he was ‘beautifully 3 idealistic and painfully out of touch with it’s mostly the older people who speak right over it. There have been very few his times.’ There was praise in some places, French. It’s the same principle by which places I’ve ever been where the tragic his- anger in others, and also idiocy. (In our Camus is being erased; erase the French tory of a country is so obviously felt on research we came across the dissatisfaction influence.’ Gillespie realized the city was the street, like that history is a shattered of an Amazon one-star review: ‘They sent a maze built on a maze overlaid with window every Algerian has to view their me the wrong book,’ the customer com- endless construction and no traffic laws. own day through. And the current deg- plained, and then admonished the com- In a city of five million, where everyone radation of the place is even harder to pany: ‘It was The Berenstain Bears Learn seemed to own a car, he did not see a witness because through it all you can still About Strangers, instead of The Stranger. It traffic light. ‘Maybe,’ he says. ‘I just see the beauty of the land and the people.’ was disappointing!!’) missed them.’ He had undertaken the journey to ask Then, one day, out of the blue, we What struck Gillespie was the gap a question: if Camus is so important, why were sent a piece of reportage from Cur- between expectation and reality, the plain then, is his work and legacy, and even tis Gillespie, a Canadian writer who has physical state of the city. He expected his name, inciting factionalism in France investigated everything from national chaos. ‘But I suppose I was expecting a and facing outright erasure in Algeria, politics to environmental policy in that city where the chaos and differentness is and what does this mean for the rest of frozen country, and who decided recently exciting. In Algiers it was heartbreaking, the world amidst a fading Arab Spring? to travel from Edmonton to sunny Algiers possibly because I’d pre-romanticized it Would this piece, he asked us, fit inFive to investigate the legacy of Camus. through Camus’s influence on me. The Dials? We paused a moment for dramatic ‘I thought I’d be able to manoevre my Casbah is a UNESCO world heritage site, effect. Yes, we replied. way around just as I’d navigated other but it’s tragic what’s happening there. Alongside it you’ll find Deborah Levy’s complicated places,’ he told us. ‘Moscow, I don’t just mean garbage falling out of alphabetical exploration of the death Guatemala, Sofia, Riga, Cartagena. I’d tins and so on. I mean heaps and heaps drive, which features Camus, and we even dive in and make it happen. But Algiers and mounds of stinking, steaming, rotting unearthed a letter, written by the man was different, and I was naive to think it trash strewn all over the place.’ It wasn’t himself, to our founder, Hamish ‘Jamie’ would be straightforward.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • A Life Worth Living
    A LIFE WORTH LIVING A LIFE WORTH LIVING Albert Camus and the Quest for Meaning robert zaretsky the belknap press of harvard university press Cambridge, Massachusetts, and London, En gland 2013 Copyright © 2013 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College all rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Zaretsky, Robert, 1955– A life worth living : Albert Camus and the quest for meaning / Robert Zaretsky. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978- 0- 674- 72476- 1 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Camus, Albert, 1913– 1960. 2. Conduct of life. I. Title. B2430.C354Z37 2013 194—dc23 2013010473 CONTENTS Prologue 1 1. Absurdity 11 2. Silence 59 3. Mea sure 92 4. Fidelity 117 5. Revolt 148 Epilogue 185 Notes 199 A c k n o w l e d g m e n t s 2 2 1 Index 223 A LIFE WORTH LIVING PROLOGUE “Even my death will be contested. And yet what I desire most today is a quiet death, which would bring peace to those whom I love.”1 Albert Camus’ prediction, written in the last decade of his life, has been borne out, though perhaps not his hope. Over the past several years, contests have simmered and burst over the French Algerian writer’s legacy. Shortly after becoming France’s president, Nicolas Sarkozy made a state visit to Algeria. The visit garnered more than the usual attention, in part because Sarkozy had come to offi ce with a reputation as a bluntly spoken conservative who saw no reason for France to apologize for its role as a colonial power.
    [Show full text]
  • Revisiting Albert Camus
    The Tender Indifference of the World: Revisiting Albert Camus Marilyn MAESO In an innovative study that returns Albert Camus’ early works to their rightful place in the canon, Laurent Bove suggests we should view Camus as a philosopher of immanence and of acquiescence to the joy of the world. This reading is enlightening as far as Camus’ thoughts on history are concerned, but tends to gloss over the ruptures that run though his work, which is driven with multiple tensions. Reviewed: Laurent Bove, Albert Camus. De la transfiguration – Pour une expérimentation vitale de l’immanence, Publications de la Sorbonne, collection « La philosophie et l’œuvre », Paris, 2014. 168 p., €19. Critics often locate the starting point of Camus’ philosophy in his realisation of the meaninglessness of existence (according to this view, his first truly philosophical text is The Myth of Sisyphus, illustrated by its literary counterparts, Caligula and The Outsider). They view his concept of revolt as the exploration of an act of overcoming, of an escape from the Absurd which Camus claims can never be more than a threshold, a state in which nobody can ever remain for very long. This, supposedly, is Camus’ philosophy: a tragic fissure that forcefully turns back on itself, a divorce from the world that leads to a universal fraternity made manifest through revolt. According to this view, texts such as Betwixt and Between and Nuptials, which portray the luminous beauty of Algeria and the treasured places of childhood, cannot be read as anything more than literary essays in which the author is indulging in careless pleasure and contemplation, far below or beyond any philosophical thought.
    [Show full text]
  • A Critique of Humoristic Absurdism
    A Critique of Humoristic Absurdism A Critique of Humoristic Absurdism Problematizing the legitimacy of a humoristic disposition toward the Absurd A Critique of Humoristic Absurdism Copyright © 2020 Thom Hamer Thom Hamer All rights reserved. No part of this thesis may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any way or by any means without the prior permission of the author or, when applicable, of the publishers of the scientific papers. Image on previous page: Yue Minjun (2003), Garbage Hill Student number: 3982815 Graphic design: Mirelle van Tulder Date: February 5th 2020 Printed by Ipskamp Printing Word count: 32,397 Institution: Utrecht University Contents Study: Research Master Philosophy Summary 9 Document: Final Thesis Foreword 10 Supervisor: prof. dr. Paul Ziche Introduction 12 Second Reader: dr. Hans van Stralen 1. The Philosophy of Humor 21 Third Reader: prof. dr. Mauro Bonazzi 1.1. A history of negligence and rejection 24 1.2. Important distinctions 33 1.3. Theories of humor 34 1.4. Defense of the Incongruity Theory 41 1.5. Relevance of relief and devaluation 52 1.6. Operational definition 54 2. The Notion of the Absurd 59 2.1. Camusian notion: meaninglessness 61 2.2. Tolstoyan notion: mortality 63 2.3. Nagelian notion: trivial commitments 67 2.4. Modified notion: dissolution of resolution 71 2.5. Justificatory guideline for a disposition toward the Absurd 78 3. Humoristic Absurdism 83 3.1. What is Humoristic Absurdism? 85 3.2. Cultural expressions of Humoristic Absurdism 87 3.3. Defense of Humoristic Absurdism 92 4. Objections against the humoristic disposition toward the Absurd 101 4.1.
    [Show full text]
  • Albert Camus' Dialogue with Nietzsche and Dostoevsky Sean Derek Illing Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected]
    Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2014 Between nihilism and transcendence : Albert Camus' dialogue with Nietzsche and Dostoevsky Sean Derek Illing Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Illing, Sean Derek, "Between nihilism and transcendence : Albert Camus' dialogue with Nietzsche and Dostoevsky" (2014). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 1393. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/1393 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. BETWEEN NIHILISM AND TRANSCENDENCE: ALBERT CAMUS’ DIALOGUE WITH NIETZSCHE AND DOSTOEVSKY A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Political Science by Sean D. Illing B.A., Louisiana State University, 2007 M.A., University of West Florida, 2009 May 2014 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation is the product of many supportive individuals. I am especially grateful for Dr. Cecil Eubank’s guidance. As a teacher, one can do no better than Professor Eubanks. Although his Socratic glare can be terrifying, there is always love and wisdom in his instruction. It is no exaggeration to say that this work would not exist without his support. At every step, he helped me along as I struggled to articulate my thoughts.
    [Show full text]
  • Thematic Concerns of Albert Camus
    International Journal of Research in all Subjects in Multi Languages Vol. 1, Issue:5, August 2013 [Author: Hitendrakumar M. Patel] [Subject: English Literature] (IJRSML) ISSN: 2321 - 2853 Thematic Concerns of Albert Camus HITENDRAKUMAR M. PATEL Assistant Lecturer, Government Science College, Idar. District. Sabarkantha Gujarat (India) Abstract: In this paper, I have focused on the different themes of Camus. His writings reveal the themes of the irrationality of the universe, absurdity of the human existence, the meaninglessness of human life, the importance of the physical world, suicide, decay and death, the nature of human revolt, exile and redemption. As a writer, Camus fashioned a body of literature using a variety of genres and themes to express the breadth and depth of his concerns especially about moral and political issues. He was true to the active and contemplative aspects of life. It is correct that the single work for which Camus is most famous is entitled The Stranger. Meursault, the main character of the novel, exists with a sense of the world and a morality that sets him apart from human society at large. Camus’s first collection Betwixt and Between was published in 1937 while Nuptials was published two years later. The essays in both books largely reflect Camus’s love of Algeria with sensuous descriptions of the landscape and its people. We see Algeria’s landscape and climate informing much of Camus’s work, thematically and symbolically. Exile, Redemption, Separation, Revolt, Absurdity etc are the themes found in Camus’s work. Keywords: The Fall, The Guest, The Plague, The Stranger 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Albert Camus: Resume for Today Barnabas Davis, O.P
    Albert Camus: Resume for Today Barnabas Davis, O.P. It has been four years now since a car crash outside Paris took the life of Nobel Prize winner Albert Camus, years which have witnessed conscien­ tious reappraisals of this unique personality's thought. Last year saw the publication of the first of a trio of his private journals under the title Note­ books 1935-1942; when the other two volumes appear, we wiU have the complete writings of this young French Algerian and then some .final as­ sessments may be possible. If this .first volume with its diary-like entries dating from his years at the University of Algiers and including his early writing efforts and war time concern for peace, has done anything for stu­ dents of his thought, it has directed attention back to his Algerian experi­ ence. For those who have become acquainted with Camus through his last "I •. 272 DOMINICANA major essay The Rebel (1951), these reflections have the special value of emphasizing the importance of Camus' earlier philosophical position. It would seem appropriate at this time to review the youthful thought of Albert Camus and indicate the general tenor of his writing at the time of his tragic death, along with the areas of discussion current among his com­ mentators. Camus, who has been called-perhaps too simply-a "Pascal without Christ," rightly ranks with the more controversial of contemporary thinkers. His work, taking the form of both fiction and philosophical essay, utters a pagan message which many observers feel may in time be set beside the great paeans of antiquity.
    [Show full text]
  • TRIBHUVAN UNIVERSITY Meaning of Happiness in Camus's a Happy
    TRIBHUVAN UNIVERSITY Meaning of Happiness in Camus’s A Happy Death A Thesis Submitted to the Central Department of English in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in English By Prakash Chandra Shrestha Central Department of English Kirtipur, Kathmandu February 2010 Tribhuvan University Central Department of English Letter of Recommendation Mr. Prakash Chandra Shrestha has completed his thesis entitled “Meaning of Happiness in Camus’s A Happy Death" under my supervision. He carried out his research from October 2009 to February 2010. I hereby recommend his thesis to be submitted for viva voce. _____________________ Pushpa Raj Achrya Supervisor Central Department of English Date: 2 Tribhuvan University Central Department of English Letter of Approval This is to certify that the thesis entitled “Meaning of Happiness in Camus’s A Happy Death” by Prakash Chandra Shrestha, submitted to the Central Department of English, Tribhuvan University, has been approved by the undersigned members of the Research Committee. Members of the Research Committee: _____________________ ____________________ Internal Examiner _____________________ ____________________ External Examiner _____________________ _____________________ ___________________ Head Central Department of English Tribhuvan University Date...................... ........ 3 Acknowledgements I am indebted to my thesis supervisor Mr. Pushpa Raj Achrya, Central Department of English, Tribhuvan University for his scholarly guidance and assiduity. I am grateful to Professor Dr. Krishna Chandra Sharma, Head of Central Department of English, for his innovative encouragement. I feel privileged to express heartfelt thanks to Mr. Shanker Subedi, for his useful advice remarkable suggestion and encouragement. If I don’t convey gratitude to my friends Surya Prasad Paneru, Summita Udas, Subarna Deep Shrestha and Shyam Giri for their relevant help, I will be proved a person having no liability.
    [Show full text]
  • Image and Symbol in the Works of Albert Camus
    Hitendrakumar M. Patel [Subject: English Literature] International Vol. 1, Issue:6, August 2013 Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences (IJRHS) ISSN:2320-771X Image and Symbol in the Works of Albert Camus HITENDRAKUMAR M. PATEL Assistant Lecturer, Government Science College, Idar. District. Sabarkantha Gujarat (India) Abstract: The present research paper is an attempt to examine aspects of Camus’s literary talents: his creation of symbols. The two images- sun and sea- recur in Camus’s work and achieve symbolical force. The range of Camus’s imagery is fairly narrow and derives almost entirely from the central experience of his life, his encounter with nature and surroundings. Images are concerned with the blinding sun. Algerian landscape is the main character and it is the main surroundings. It is within the context of this particular experience of nature that Camus’s references to the sun and the sea need to be set. These images figure prominently in Camus’s work because they are obviously the representative images of the type of landscape in which he was born and spent the formative years of his life. Keywords: Algeria, Sea, Sun, Landscape The present research paper will be confined to tracing the process by which two images Sun and Sea recur in this author’s work and achieve symbolical force. The range of Camus’s imagery is fairly narrow and derives almost entirely from the central experience of his life his encounter with nature along the North African littoral. This experience is described directly and personally in his formal essay; “Betwixt and Between’ ‘Noces’ and “Le Minotaure on la Halte d’ Oran.” From these essays a distinct sensibility emerges, born of an essentially pagan experience of Natural Surroundings.
    [Show full text]
  • Kierkegaard, Camus, and the Philosophy of Love
    University of Central Florida STARS HIM 1990-2015 2013 Upbuilding Oppositions: Kierkegaard, Camus, and the Philosophy of Love Jesus Luzardo University of Central Florida Part of the Philosophy Commons Find similar works at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/honorstheses1990-2015 University of Central Florida Libraries http://library.ucf.edu This Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by STARS. It has been accepted for inclusion in HIM 1990-2015 by an authorized administrator of STARS. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Recommended Citation Luzardo, Jesus, "Upbuilding Oppositions: Kierkegaard, Camus, and the Philosophy of Love" (2013). HIM 1990-2015. 1814. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/honorstheses1990-2015/1814 UPBUILDING OPPOSITIONS: KIERKEGAARD, CAMUS, AND THE PHILOSOPHY OF LOVE by JESUS LUZARDO A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Honors in the Major Program in Philosophy in the College of Arts and Humanities and in the Burnett Honors College at the University of Central Florida Orlando, Fl Spring 2013 Thesis Chair: Dr. Michael Strawser ABSTRACT Despite the fact that they are both known as leading figures of existentialism, the relationship between 19th century Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard and 20th century French philosopher and novelist Albert Camus has largely gone unexplored in secondary scholarship. In the few times that their relationship is discussed, focus is heavily placed on the most obvious difference between the two thinkers: their religious orientations, which tends to prevent any further analysis or discussion. Furthermore, popular conceptions of each thinker — largely informed by their most popular works, arguably Fear and Trembling and The Myth of Sisyphus, respectively — tend to depict them as pessimistic and individualistic figures, the former basing his philosophy on an irrational leap of faith and the latter basing his own on the world’s meaninglessness and absurdity.
    [Show full text]
  • The Meaningless Life Is Not Worth Living: Critical Reflections on Marcel’S Critique of Camus
    Marcel Studies, Vol. 2, Issue No. 1, 2017 The Meaningless Life Is Not Worth Living: Critical Reflections on Marcel’s Critique of Camus GEORGE HEFFERNAN, Department of Philosophy, Merrimack College, North Andover, Massachusetts. [email protected] Abstract: Gabriel Marcel (1889–1973) and Albert Camus (1913–1960) both resist categorization as thinkers. Marcel may be regarded as a “Christian existentialist,” though he eventually questioned this label, and Camus has been viewed as the “philosopher of the absurd,” though he soon grew uneasy with this designation. Indeed, it is often overlooked that Camus’s thought underwent a remarkable shift from a preoccupation with the ineluctability of absurdity to a concentration on the possibility of revolt. It is also underappreciated that Marcel presented a detailed critique of Camus’s thought, though the reverse did not happen. The purpose of this paper is to outline Marcel’s critique of Camus and to examine its merits and demerits. The question is what role, if any, Marcel’s critique played in the passage of Camus’s thought from solitary resignation to the absurdity of the world to collective revolt against the injustice of human beings to their fellows. Introduction: A Hint at a Missed Opportunity In March, 1940, Albert Camus, having earned a diploma in philosophy from the University of Algiers (1936) and working mainly and mostly as a journalist in his native Algeria, settled in Paris to seek his future as a writer. He had previously published two slender collections of lyrical essays, L’Envers et l’Endroit/The Wrong Side and the Right Side (1937) and Noces/Nuptials (1939), with a small Algerian press, but he was generally unknown to the reading public of metropolitan France.
    [Show full text]
  • H-France Review Volume 17 (2017) Page 1
    H-France Review Volume 17 (2017) Page 1 H-France Review Vol. 17 (September 2017), No. 161 Alice Kaplan, Looking for the Stranger: Albert Camus and the Life of a Literary Classic Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 2016. 288 pp. Maps, bibliography, and index. $26.00 U.S. (cl). ISBN 978-0-2262-4167-8. Review by André Benhaïm, Princeton University. Just when you thought you knew the Stranger, another story comes along. The Stranger, it turns out, is not just the protagonist of Albert Camus’s most famous and celebrated novel, L’Étranger. The Stranger is not, as it happens, only Meursault. The Stranger is the book itself. This is the story that Alice Kaplan tells in a book that showcases the skills that earned her her place among the top scholars in the humanities, and in French literature and culture in particular. This essay, however, transcends the genre of academic work. It is an essay, in the “French” sense of the term, with a bold momentum that reveals the personal engagement of the author with the subject of her investigation (literally, as we’ll see), and creates (or deepens) the readers’ own sense of personal engagement with a book and an author they thought were familiar. If Alice Kaplan is an outstanding scholar, one should also praise her talent as a writer. The opening of the book reads like the overture of a novel, not only in the suggestive, inspired prose, but also in the choice for the scene, the actual staging of the whole essay.
    [Show full text]
  • Albert Camus's Reconstruction of Symbolic Reality: Exile, Judgment, and Kingdom
    Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1998 Albert Camus's Reconstruction of Symbolic Reality: Exile, Judgment, and Kingdom. Peter Alan Petrakis Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Petrakis, Peter Alan, "Albert Camus's Reconstruction of Symbolic Reality: Exile, Judgment, and Kingdom." (1998). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 6697. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/6697 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps.
    [Show full text]