Rating: 
Summary: A few words about reading a book like this
Review: This book was more philosophical than expected. I didn't know what to expect while going into this book, but I came out of it with a better understanding of Camus and his life at the time the book was written. Is Mr. Camus referring to himself in his writing of this book? Perhaps. That is just something that is unclear in his writing. I'm on neutral grounds on that issue, but you may come out without a doubt certain he is referring to himself or the complete opposite. A great read, but not an easy read. Nothing that can be superficially read in a night. His thoughts and perspectives need to be understood a little deeper.
Rating:
Summary: Pleased
Review: This book was more philosophical than expected. I didn't know what to expect while going into this book, but I came out of it with a better understanding of Camus and his life at the time the book was written. Is Mr. Camus referring to himself in his writing of this book? Perhaps. That is just something that is unclear in his writing. I'm on neutral grounds on that issue, but you may come out without a doubt certain he is referring to himself or the complete opposite. A great read, but not an easy read. Nothing that can be superficially read in a night. His thoughts and perspectives need to be understood a little deeper.
Rating:
Summary: A really important book...
Review: This is probably, in my estimation, Albert Camus' greatest work in that it explains in detail some of the similar underlying feelings that appear in some of his other books. On the surface, the book is an investigation into an answer of the question "what for?" posed in the face of what seems as being an absurd and senseless universe. Beneath that, it is a sensitive and well-thought out account through a particularly lucid (although not as bleak as one supposes-- especially if one has negelected Camus in favor of Sartre....) mind...Camus' would have been a philosophy teacher had not his childhood tuberculosis rendered him incapable of recieving his degree in it in Algeria. He shows how good of one he would have been in this work. I love this book because it comes to a hopeful conclusion in the face of an absolutely terrible world (this book was finished in the middle of WWII-- along with the Rebel and Caligula (plays). It is a definate must-read.... especially for a late high school student or early college student who thinks too much and wonders why (that's when I read it!!!)
Rating:
Summary: This is the REAL bible
Review: This is what you all need. This is carpe diem, for real. Learn to see the beauty of life, despite the absurdity in the situation of man. We scream for answers to our desperate questions, but there are none. No deeper meaning exists. So why not enjoy life? Sadly most people live after this devise; "We'll come to heaven when we'll die, because we've lived our lives in hell". I don't know if God exists, maybe he does. But WHO CARES! My life is now, and there's no meaning in the struggle of achieving a possible heaven AFTER death. Heaven is possible NOW. revolution/ Sandra
Rating:
Summary: Each person in the world is a Sisyphus
Review: When I was little, I was disposed to ask adults and myself as well, like many kids have ever done, what lay beyond the earth on which we lived. The outer space, indeed. That's almost the same answer through ages out of most adults' mouths. And yet, there was no reply at all to my ensuing question: "What lies beyond the universe then?" Now that I got no gratifying answer, I tried figuring it out by myself. To my astonishment, it conjured up an out-of-the-way feeling on my mind in which my annoying question was being answered by montage of a couple images. First off, the whole screen I saw was light to an extent that it even dazzled my eyes because of a close-up of a lamp hanging from a mast of a canoe. Suddenly, there was a panoramic shot from high above in the sky whence I was surprised to find the canoe at endless sea wrapped by infinite darkness of the night. At the moment, the lamp was twinkling, unlike the previous shot, as if to be blown out in time. For the then-existing finding, or rather, feeling, I hadn't found an appropriate expression and description until I read "The Myth of Sisyphus"-- "crushing truths." The so-called crushing truths keep looming over like threatening clouds. Human beings are so microscopic that there seems well-nigh no meaning for the being of beings. Each of us, or the earth as a whole, is seemingly a single box 'shrouded' by numerous boxes. Existence as such resembles innumerable Chinese boxes, for which one can never know which is the first one within that starts with, nor can one reach for the last one that is the biggest without. While Camus seems to approve of the fact of nothingness, a silver lining still emerges from one of many encouraging sentences in this essay--"But crushing truths perish from being acknowledged." Such live and positive impetus stretches further when he quotes Oedipus as saying, "Despite so many ordeals, my advanced age and the nobility of my soul make me conclude that all is well." Human beings are really microscopic so that there are no differences between individuals. Each person is a Sisyphus, in a sense. Sisyphus with courage to move on, or the one without it, if any. "The Myth of Sisyphus" is one of the essays in this book. To be honest, I've read only this article for the time being. I can, however, assure you that it pays to buy the whole book just for a single essay in this case.
Rating: 
Summary: not too shabby
Review: While I love Camus for his novels, some of his philosophical essays are phenominal. Such is the essay "The Myth of Sisyphus". This book is worth the cash just for this one essay. There are a few others that might quench your thirst for a quick Camus fix, but I personally find most of the essays repetative and I am quick to loose interest.
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