Product Description

Four of these stories are set on the shimmering desert fringes of Albert Camus' native Algeria, and all of them first appeared in 1957, the year when he became the youngest French writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #618814 in Books
• Published on: 2002-08-29
• Original language: French
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

Book Information
Four of these stories are set on the shimmering desert fringes of Camus's native Algeria, and all of them first appeared in 1957, the year when he became the youngest French writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.

"I would call his pessimism 'solar',if you remember how much black there is in the sun" --Jean-Paul Sartre

"In France, the three vital writers are André Malraux, Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus. Of these, the greatest is Camus" --Arthur Koestler

"Powerful, jolting, thought-provoking parables, told skilfully and with detached passion" --Sunday Times

"These violent yet controlled stories confirm ... that Camus is no simple, superficial humanitarian. He is on the side of the angels, as he should be, but he gives the devil a very good run for his money" --Observer

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Customer Reviews

Wonderfully Atmospheric Studies of the Intimate Problems of Alienation
This collection of six short stories explores the issues of alienation experienced by people who find themselves outsiders in social environments where their social and emotional ties are complex, particularly those involving colonialism. Camus was uniquely qualified to consider such situations, because of his colonial background and because of his stunning command of vivid imagery. The stories cover a wide geographical span, from France to Brazil, and many different aspects of the alienation process. The writing is achingly vivid and alive, and the book shows a much broader view of an author who is widely acknowledged as a master, but mostly for his `bigger' novels.

A series of short stories which epitomise Camus' work.
This book would serve as a useful introduction to the world of Albert Camus and existentialism. The stories are generally set in Camus' native Algeria and deal with his usual themes. An exception is the light and witty final tale of the life of an artist in Paris.