Rating: 
Summary: Camus at his best
Review: Aside from being Camus' crowning literary achievement, this work could also be viewed as one of the most important works of twentieth century literatue. It is also perhaps the most representational fictional work in the existensialist genre, far surpassing the work of Sartre. The Fall, aside from being a great work, is a masterful technical achievment, and a lesson in character development and dialogue. The plot revolves around a Parisian Lawyer by the name of Jean-Baptiste Clamence and his conversation with an anonymous man at an Amsterdam bar. As the story progresses the reader is gradually overwhelmed by the lawyers increasingly serious confessions. With no scenery to distract you the intensity of the conversation grows with each admission. In his simple confession and out pouring of emotion we see a successful, seemingly content man, gradually transformed and reduced into an alienated, and shattered human being, a mere shell of the individual that he once strived to be. This book is similar to "The Stranger" in the way that the psychological tension continues to build, moving towards the final disheartening enlightenment. But, unlike "The Stranger" there is no closure for the subject or release from torment, only endless confession; not only for his individual crimes, but for those of all humanity. One can only speculate on how Camus would have continued this line of inquiry if he hadn't been tragically killed in an automobile accident at the age of 46. As it is we can only continue to enjoy and contemplate what he left behind. For as long as literature exists writers will continue to delve into the recesses of the human psyche and attempt to provide a flicker of light in, an all to often, dark world. After reading this book I can say that Camus accomplished this like few writers ever had, and will always be a sobering light amid the confusion of an often absurd world.
Rating:
Summary: Much thinking in Amsterdam
Review: "The Fall" is a short, interesting and challenging novel (I suppose it might be better described as a reflective novella). In Amsterdam, the ex-lawyer Jean-Baptiste Clamence meets a fellow Frenchman in a seedy bar, and proceeds to give a account of his fall from social eminence. The book is told in the form of a monologue by Clamence, but Camus loads it with plenty of imagery - conveying the atmosphere both of Amsterdam and of Paris. Clamence takes his acquaintance back to the time when he was a successful lawyer, then tells of his growing guilt at his self-indulgent philanthropy. Thereafter, there's a decline into moral impotence and a rejection of social and moral norms as he views his life and actions as essentially meaningless. Much of this is pretty deep stuff, and I thought that I could give "The Fall" a second and third reading and still get a lot out of it. What was Camus's message in the novel? Well, it might be a savage critique of the veneer of altruism beneath which the wealthy operate - indeed does social snobbery rather than genuine concern truly underpin their acts of charity? Yet I felt that Camus balked at Clamence's nihilism because it was too destructive of the self and of others. Perhaps he thought that greater honesty and realism need to be tempered by/encouraged by greater humanity. Each reader will have their own take. But at least this fine book has value precisely because it provokes such thoughts. G Rodgers
Rating: 
Summary: The Angusty Of Camus
Review: In my humble opinion, after reading all of the works of Albert Camus, I still think that "The Fall" its one of the best works from him, the angusty and anger of Camus is reflected in the ways of Jean Baptiste, the critics are incrideble, and the plot is simple but with such a bitirness...
Such an amazing work...
Rating:
Summary: The Classic French Existential Novel
Review: Barely more than a hundred pages, "The Fall" represents Albert Camus' ultimate foray into the recesses of psychic anguish. Jean-Baptiste Clamence, a once-respected and successful Paris barrister, sits alone in an Amsterdam bar delivering his stark monologue to an unknown listener. It is a confessional narrative, a tale in which Clamence slowly unravels the spare facts of his life, his deceptions, his inauthenticity, his bad faith. As he sits in the dimly lit bar, Clamence makes the locus of his telling a metaphor for the narrative to follow: "We are at the heart of things here. Have you noticed that Amsterdam's concentric canals resemble the circles of hell? The middle-class hell, of course, peopled with bad dreams. When one comes from the outside, as one gradually goes throught those circles, life-and hence its crimes-becomes denser, darker. Here we are in the last circle." It is a metaphor that resonates with existential imagery, reminiscent of Sartre's claim, in "No Exit", that "hell is other people." From this grim place, Camus writes a classic of Existentialist literature, building on this metaphor, writing an extended trope of unremitting self-examination, self-doubt and anguish. Clamence was, by all outward appearances, both a virtuous and a modest man. His courtesy was famous and beyond question. He was generous in public and private, literally exulting at the approach of a beggar. He helped the blind man cross the street and the indigent defendant secure a reduced sentence. He ended his afternoons at the café with "a brilliant improvisation in the company of several friends on the hard-heartedness of our governing class and the hypocrisy of our leaders." But appearances give lie to the truth, for the truth in "The Fall" is that life has no meaning, that it is full of ennui, and that people act unthinkingly, inauthentically, habitually. Thus, Clamence reflects on a man he knew, a man "who gave twenty years of his life to a scatter-brained woman, sacrificing everything to her," only to realize in the end that he never loved her. How does Clamence explain this? "He had been bored, that's all, bored like most people." And from this boredom, the man married and created "a life full of complications and drama." For, as Clamence suggests, "something must happen-and that explains most human commitments." Clamence describes himself, too, as "a double face, a charming Janus," for his motives and feelings, his very psyche, belie his outward virtue. While outwardly supporting the poor and downtrodden, he is "well aware that one can't get along without dominating or being served, [for] every man needs slaves as he needs fresh air." While known as a defender of justice, a great Parisian lawyer, his "true desire" is not "to be the most intelligent or the most generous creature on earth, but only to beat anyone [he] wanted to, to be the stronger." While professing deep love and affection for the many women in his life, he is a misogynist who "never loved any of them." As Clamence cynically suggests, "true love is exceptional, [occurring] two or three times a century more or less. The rest of the time there is vanity or boredom." "The Fall" is a little novel that makes the reader ponder big questions, questions of meaning and existence and death, of how we live our lives and of what motivates our actions. It is, in other words, a novel that articulates the open-ended questioning characteristic of the French Existentialism of the 1940s and 1950s. But it is more than that, for it is also perhaps the finest work of one of France's greatest Twentieth Century authors, a work that deserves to be read, re-read and pondered.
Rating:
Summary: existensialism par excellance
Review: Aside from being Camus' crowning literary achievement, this work should also be viewed as one of the most important works of twentieth century literatue. It is also, perhaps, the most representational work of fiction in the existensialist genre, far surpassing the work of Sartre. The Fall, aside from being a great work, is also a masterful technical achievment, and a lesson in character development and dialogue. The plot revolves around a Parisian Lawyer by the name of Jean-Baptiste Clamence and his conversation with an anonymous man at an Amsterdam bar. As the story progresses the reader is gradually overwhelmed by the lawyers increasingly serious confessions. With no scenery to distract you from the intensity of the conversation, the tension grows with each new admission, which slowly reveals the fragile relationships that we have with others, as well as the delusional images projected upon the self. In his simple confession and out-pouring of emotion we see a successful, seemingly content man, gradually transformed and reduced into an alienated, and shattered human being; a mere shell of the individual that he once strived to be. This book is similar to "The Stranger" in the way that the psychological tension is meticulously and subtly built upon, inevitably moving towards a final disheartening, yet liberating, personal understanding. But, unlike "The Stranger" there is no closure for the subject or release from the psychological torment of reflection, only the curse of endless confession, not only concernign his individual crimes, but for his complicity in all the crimes of humanity. One can only speculate on how Camus would have continued this line of inquiry if he hadn't been tragically killed in an automobile accident at the age of 46. As it is we can only continue to enjoy and contemplate what he left behind. For as long as literature exists writers will continue to delve into the recesses of the human psyche and attempt to provide a flicker of light in, an all to often, dark and absurd world. After reading this book I can say that Camus accomplished this goal like few writers ever have, and his works will continue to represent a sobering light amid the confusion of an often absurd world.
Rating:
Summary: Camus is amazing!
Review: This is the second piece of work I have read by Camus, the first being is most well-known work, The Stranger. Albert Camus is an amazing writer and one of the few philosopher's that I've read, that can actually make his philosophy become amazingly interesting and engaging. Camus' characters are completely human and one wouldn't be suprised to encounter an actual person like one of them in a bar or at the local beach. His style of writing is elegant and beautiful to the point that even though you're excited to see how the work conclueds, you will often find yourself never wanting it to end. It is such a sad thing, that Camus died because, I know that if he had lived longer we would have a great deal of more beautiful works of the written art to comsume ourselves in.
Rating:
Summary: The Angusty Of Camus
Review: In my humble opinion, after reading all of the works of Albert Camus, I still think that "The Fall" its one of the best works from him, the angusty and anger of Camus is reflected in the ways of Jean Baptiste, the critics are incrideble, and the plot is simple but with such a bitirness...
Such an amazing work...
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Camus
Review: This book is one of the best from one of my favorite authors, whom I turn to when I need solace from this crazy world. Camus asked and answered the universal questions. "The Fall" explores all of them, reminding us of the mystery of existance and the complicated nature of human behavior.
Rating:
Summary: One of the most profound....
Review: One of the most profound and intellectually challenging books I have had the pleasure of reading... It makes you think about things as most books rarely do. It's stylish and cleverly written... with the character sitting there telling you about his life and achievements until the end... when you realize what "the fall" really is. I am so glad that my English teacher made me read this book.
Rating:
Summary: The Fall by Albert Camus
Review: Possibly my favorite book ever. It still draws me in. The analogy of peeling onion layers is most obvious in reading it. The teller, Jean Baptiste Clemance, is so charming and skilled in convincing the reader, that each new sentence is like a gem and to be savored. It stimulates the mind and seduces the reader. It stuns you the first time you read it, and continues to provoke, amuse, and shock in subsequent readings. In the end it always leads us to contemplate our own values, our personnas and to wonder what is really true in life. A book everyone should read. And slowly.
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