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Summary: experiencing existentialism and absurdity.
Review: The novel holds forth a very new aspect of each human.It is a deep study of how one,who is conscious of his existence,can at the same time both despair and wallow in his own state of being.For one with no profound understanding of the practical aspect of the despair involved with absurdity,this book came to me as a wonderful illustration of how far reaching the consequences of the metaphysics of absurdity can be. A person goes into self-analyses,leaves no stone unturned and discovers a whole new hollow reality beckoning him.As we go through his shades of evil and genius,we can only hope that this so contagious truth inside each person does not open up to us ;but alas and luckily,it does.
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Summary: Watch whose money you pick up.
Review: This is a fun book for people interested in structuralism, or just interested in testing themselves. Who is this guy? What is he talking about? But didn't he just say...? For those who like psychological gymnastics, this will be a wonderful experience. It is even readable in a day, leaving pleanty of time to go and worry about what was missed.
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Summary: Don't Rely On It
Review: In terms of Camus' entire output, The Fall probably ranks somewhere in the middle as far as quality is concerned, and of course, such categorization is subjective. Still, the middle point of Camus' ouvre is still top-caliber comparatively speaking. Clearly Camus was grappling, digging and searching for answers during this period, which was nothing new for him. He had broken off with Sartre and with the existentialist "school" that was focused on remedying social injustice. Camus had been a member of the French Communist party briefly in the 30's and Sartre wanted to take him back into the fold, but Camus rejected him (of course it's more complicated than that). However, if you're looking for a serious discussion of his soul-searching, you'd be better advised to turn to his essays of the period, rather than to this work, for The Fall represents Camus at play, having a bit of fun with his over-serious readership and with a movement (Existentialism) he felt had become over inflated. What he's doing here is basically taking his pants down and mooning the whole moody, intellectual crowd. The Fall is a monologue (not a dialogue, as mentioned elsewhere), written in first person (not second, as, again, is enumerated several times in the course of reviews here). There is one character in the novel. He is a highly unreliable narrator, a point that is passed over in all the Amazon reviews. He is ostensibly a lawyer, yet his calling card says that he is an actor. Camus is practically yelling at the reader, telling him not to take anything the narrator says at face value: "You, for instance, <mon cher compatriote>, stop and think what your sign would be. You are silent? Well, you'll tell me later on. I know mine in any case: a double face, a charming Janus, and above it the motto of the house: 'Don't rely on it.' On my cards: 'Jean-Baptiste Clamence, play actor.'" The "Jean-Baptiste" is another clue, for if you are familiar with French literature it should ring a bell that Jean-Baptiste Poquelin was the famous playwright Moliere's given name. Not that Jean-Baptiste is that uncommon a name, but in the context, given the fact that the narrator refers to himself as an actor (Moliere acted in his own company), the referent is pretty glaring. So this is a story told by a comedian who is essentially improvising the whole thing, Commedia dell' Arte style. So if you're looking for referents, it has a lot more to do with Pirandello than with Kirkeggard. The only reason for all this background is merely to make the point that this work should not be taken so seriously as it has been by a majority of Amazon reviewers, and by many in the literary community before them. Sure, Camus inserts a lot of angst-ridden, "life's a tale told by an idiot, signifying nothing," passages, but it's clear by the context that he is parodying himself and his "compatriotes." This is an intentional shaggy-dog story. He is having us on. Read it for fun. Just don't overtax yourself looking for "deep" meaning here. It's a literary tromp-l'oeil. If the ending of the book doesn't convince you of that, nothing will.
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Summary: Camus' Written Confession
Review: The Fall is one of the best explorations of a single character in existence. It is an incredible character study in search of a story. The Fall was Albert Camus' last completed novel. On the surface, it is a simple narrative as Jean-Baptiste Clamence recounts the events from the last few years of his life. On a much deeper level, however, The Fall is Camus' written confession. The work is filled with Camus' self-loathing and criticisms of various persons and beliefs. More than any previous work, The Fall reveals the real Camus. Camus tended to use Algerian settings for much of his work, or he would favor symbols of his Algerian youth, such as the sun and the open sea. The Fall breaks with Camus' earlier habits; the narrative is set primarily in Amsterdam, not in Algeria or France. The "action" is at night, not under the blazing sun. The water is not the open sea, but controlled rivers. Any energy and optimism of the Mediterranean is surrendered to the sterile cold of a northern European city. Camus' despair is the true setting. Jean-Baptiste Clamence, the novel's first-person narrator, explains his life and exile in Amsterdam to readers as if talking to someone at a bar. Jean-Baptiste's highly critical view of himself and life reflect a loss of faith in human nature and "justice." Camus' chosen profession for Jean-Baptiste, a lawyer, brings attention to his narrator's views on justice and morality. Clamence is a former lawyer from Paris, living in personal exile due to self-hatred. In effect, Jean-Baptiste has sentenced himself to the worst fate he could imagine...isolation. Clamence is punishing himself for cowardice, the worst of possible crimes. As with Sartre, Camus viewed a failure to act as a choice to surrender. While The Plague is a story of action against the odds, The Fall is as tale of a man's guilt for a failure to act. Jean-Paul Sartre wrote, one might assume reluctantly, considering The Rebel's chilly reception, that The Fall was Camus' greatest work of fiction. Sartre and other critics appreciated the depth of character exhibited in The Fall. It is also likely they enjoyed the spectacle they thought they saw when Camus placed himself before the world.
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Summary: an experience to be shared by all
Review: Camus is at his best yet again in novel form. The fall is written in the second person narrrative which is something readers do not come across to often. It is basically a novel of self confession which will have you thinking about your own desires, downfalls, and secrets.
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Summary: My favorite Camus book....
Review: I love this book. First, it is a story written in second person narration largely (more or less) in which you, the reader, become implicated in the plot through which the protagonist frees himself. It is a complex and readable portrait even when set aside from being one of the easiest to understand superficially yet subtly complex Albert Camus' works.... It is a shame that so many teachers force the Plague and L'Etranger on kids without looking to this book.... by itself, it is certainly more fun to read than the Plague and at least as good as the other.... If you're a fan of Camus, buy this book. If not, what are you doing on this page?
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Summary: Camus on the downhill
Review: Stream-of-consiousness is not something regularly associated with existentialism, and for good reason. This text lacks focus in all respects. Not a high point nor a recommended text.
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Summary: Makes you think
Review: I love this book for many reasons, but perhaps most of all because it really made me think. It made me think about the person I was, the person I would like to be, and the person I have become. This novel is an excellent example of mental and physical deterioration. After reading it in one sitting (a little over an hour's time), I wondered how much I, myself, have deteriorated over the years. If you read it, which I wish you would, I can only hope it will have the same effect on you. And remember: think about who you really are.
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Summary: Witty Satire
Review: Camus' spare and lucid novella is a scintillating send-up of many of the existentialists with whom he had had a falling-out. The extended monologue format is intriguing, and the perfect vehicle for the narrator's confessions. One is reminded of Dostoevsky's The Underground while reading The Fall, but Camus' message is far easier to swallow.
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Summary: I can only give five stars?
Review: How can I sum up the story, the plot? It's really like describing a Degas. The book gives you a feeling, and reading it is more than a mere intellectual pursuit. To call The Fall a work of art is a disservice. To attempt to explain for Camus what this book is saying is hubris at best. The central character of the story describes his fall from his lofty perch of moral rectitude. But has he really fallen? Or has he just become more cynical, of his own nature true, but of humanity in general? It seems as his self-loathing grew, his love of his fellow man contacted. Enough, I am ashamed at my pretentiousness. But really, if you are in high school, you probably aren't ready for The Fall. But if you are ready, the Fall is a work of incomparable profundity. It is over too soon, you will find.
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