Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful , flawed absurdity.
Review: A Happy Death is Camus' first novel - that's obvious from the start. Having previously read The Stranger and The Fall, I guess I was spoiled. I didn't really appreciate A Happy Death. It was a brooding, hedonistic tale laced with the same moral dilemmas as The Stranger and The Fall yet it lacked the beauty of both. The value in this novel, however, is that, in combination with his other works, it shows the development of a very talented writer. Do I recommend it? Only for those who've read everything else by Camus and have a bit of patience.
Rating: 
Summary: For Camus Enthusiasts Only
Review: A Happy Death is Camus' first novel - that's obvious from the start. Having previously read The Stranger and The Fall, I guess I was spoiled. I didn't really appreciate A Happy Death. It was a brooding, hedonistic tale laced with the same moral dilemmas as The Stranger and The Fall yet it lacked the beauty of both. The value in this novel, however, is that, in combination with his other works, it shows the development of a very talented writer. Do I recommend it? Only for those who've read everything else by Camus and have a bit of patience.
Rating: 
Summary: A mixed bag.
Review: Although it contains some passages of sublime and sensuous description,Camus's early blueprint of "The Outsider" generally misfires,due to dramatic weaknesses,over-formal plotting and thin characterisation.A tedious and unmemorable work that ranks far below "The Outsider","The Rebel"and "The Myth of Sisyphus."
Rating: 
Summary: Camus In Metamorphosis
Review: Camus' book "A Happy Death" was never published in his lifetime. Camus was very specific and deliberate as to when he would publish what. This novel, the first written by Camus, has been published after being reclaimed from his papers.The question that comes to mind then, is "Why did Camus never publish this work?" It seems that the book was a transitional writing for Camus. It allowed him to move forward from the life he had always thought about, to the life he believed he lived in, that being an "existential" existence. In reading the book, one finds that Mersault, the protagonist, seems to have too many moments of happiness as compared to other protagonists in Camus' other publications. This in fact, is probably an autobiographical reflection of Camus' early life, and the book, a work to allow him to metamorphosize, transform his vision into what came next, "The Stranger." The beauty of the novel is recognizing this transition and then, with such recognition, comes the ability to apply those thought patterns and feelings to Camus' later works, seeing how he transformed from a "regular" human being, to an "existentialist" one who has the feeling of being unique, and apart from others and the world around him. The book gives valuable insight into Camus' mental process as he moves from where he was, to where he will go. For Camus readers, the book is truly a MUST. And for anyone with an interest in the "Existential" genre, it is truly an enlightening piece of literature.
Rating:
Summary: Camus In Metamorphosis
Review: Camus' book "A Happy Death" was never published in his lifetime. Camus was very specific and deliberate as to when he would publish what. This novel, the first written by Camus, has been published after being reclaimed from his papers. The question that comes to mind then, is "Why did Camus never publish this work?" It seems that the book was a transitional writing for Camus. It allowed him to move forward from the life he had always thought about, to the life he believed he lived in, that being an "existential" existence. In reading the book, one finds that Mersault, the protagonist, seems to have too many moments of happiness as compared to other protagonists in Camus' other publications. This in fact, is probably an autobiographical reflection of Camus' early life, and the book, a work to allow him to metamorphosize, transform his vision into what came next, "The Stranger." The beauty of the novel is recognizing this transition and then, with such recognition, comes the ability to apply those thought patterns and feelings to Camus' later works, seeing how he transformed from a "regular" human being, to an "existentialist" one who has the feeling of being unique, and apart from others and the world around him. The book gives valuable insight into Camus' mental process as he moves from where he was, to where he will go. For Camus readers, the book is truly a MUST. And for anyone with an interest in the "Existential" genre, it is truly an enlightening piece of literature.
Rating:
Summary: Camus In Metamorphosis
Review: Camus' book "A Happy Death" was never published in his lifetime. Camus was very specific and deliberate as to when he would publish what. This novel, the first written by Camus, has been published after being reclaimed from his papers. The question that comes to mind then, is "Why did Camus never publish this work?" It seems that the book was a transitional writing for Camus. It allowed him to move forward from the life he had always thought about, to the life he believed he lived in, that being an "existential" existence. In reading the book, one finds that Mersault, the protagonist, seems to have too many moments of happiness as compared to other protagonists in Camus' other publications. This in fact, is probably an autobiographical reflection of Camus' early life, and the book, a work to allow him to metamorphosize, transform his vision into what came next, "The Stranger." The beauty of the novel is recognizing this transition and then, with such recognition, comes the ability to apply those thought patterns and feelings to Camus' later works, seeing how he transformed from a "regular" human being, to an "existentialist" one who has the feeling of being unique, and apart from others and the world around him. The book gives valuable insight into Camus' mental process as he moves from where he was, to where he will go. For Camus readers, the book is truly a MUST. And for anyone with an interest in the "Existential" genre, it is truly an enlightening piece of literature.
Rating:
Summary: A brilliant treatise on happiness and death
Review: Camus, the master wordsmith, stunningly leads us on one man's inescapable journey towards death. Along the way he realises how inconsequntial material things are in the battle between life and death. Highlights: Beautiful accounts of the hero's last vestigages of strength being drained from his body while swimming in the North African Mediterranean; the startling description of a man in the throes of death. Read it!
Rating:
Summary: You've Got to be Into This Kind of Reading
Review: I agree with another reviewer in that one has got to be prepared for Camus. I have only read The Stranger and The Plague in addition to this one, but found A Happy Death much better than The Plague. Also note that A Happy Death was not published by Camus during his lifetime and likely not intended to be, since much of A Happy Death is taken and used in The Stranger. For fans existentialism (which I am one) this book is a pretty fun and easy read, due to its very short length. I recommended it to a cousin I was vacationing with who had almost no philosophical background, and he read it in one day and enjoyed it well enough. But again, as I have written in my review of The Plague, one cannot help but wonder what gets lost in each translation. Giving the benefit of the doubt to Camus, this translator (Richard Howard) appears to have a better grip on the English side of the ball than does the translator of The Plague (Stuart Gilbert). Since this is (unofficially) Camus' first work, A Happy Death is a logical place to start, although note another reviewer's remarks that The Stranger and The Fall are both more enjoyable (but not The Plague according to me). A first-timer to Camus may be better served by trying The Stranger first - I'm positive Camus would prefer that starting point as well.
Rating:
Summary: Extraordinary! It changed my life!!!!!
Review: I am a sophmore in high school at the moment and I read this book when I was in eighth grade. At that time I was very depresed and unhappy. I don't mean I was on the verge of suicide but I was just very gloomy. Then my english teacher told us we had to read a novel of our choosing and keep a journal on it. For some reason I choose this book. I had only read one of Camus's short stories: THE GUEST and that did not prepare me for the beauty of A HAPPY DEATH. I had never read anything of such raw unmitigated emotion! Camus tossed feelings around like jugglers do balls! When I had finished I felt at peace with myself for the first time in a year and a half. I urge everyone to read this book. Granted, there are structural problems but who cares! All that is left to say is: Thank you Albert! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Rating:
Summary: Make this the last book you read by Camus!
Review: I love this book... but.... honestly, I think that this is probably the least important work by Camus (sorry for those terms) and the least relevant-- to me it strikes interest having read twenty books on him-- to see where he was coming from-- but as a novel or philosophical piece, it is less interesting than any other-- and less well crafted as well..... This is a vaguely similar story to the Stranger (the first part anyway) and has a similar main character and similar polt lines. What differs is that it is by a younger author with less worldly experience and who has faced less worldly difficulties (i.e. the beginnings of WWII). As such, it comes off as not as good of a book.... If you haven't read 'The Rebel' or any of his other books, read them first. Then come back to this one. I promise you'll make it....
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