Elegantly styled, Camus' profoundly disturbing novel of a Parisian lawyer's confessions is a searing study of modern amorality.
The Fall (Vintage International)
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MAY 1, monsieur, offer my services without running the risk of intruding? Read the first page
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"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
By musicburgler
Format:Paperback
Its too hard to describe this though it is a novel, set under a guise of a fauex monologue by someone named Clamence. Basicly the French expatriate saddles up a simliar minded Frenchman (You the reader) yet naive confidant at a dive bar in Amsterdam. Sounding more like a swindler or shuckster Clamence entices the reader into acting as a witness to his confessional. Chronicaling his rise to prominace both socialaly and financialy and descent into murky paranoia, the monologue ropes you in with hints of common experience, abeit in a social cynasism sort of slant. In the end Clamence shares the secret of life with the unasuming reader though it could take one, as did me, multiple readings to interprut. This should be the quintesential piece to describe Camus' philosophy even though as literature it is hard boiled and seriously lacking plot. Ive read it at least 6 times.
Format:Paperback
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...
Such an amazing work...
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4.2 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Camus is amazing!
This is the second piece of work I have read by Camus, the first being is most well-known work, The Stranger. Read more
Published on April 18 2004 by "smalley6"
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding Camus
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. Read more
Published on Jan 16 2004 by Hugh Pearson
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the most profound....
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. Read more
Published on Jan 16 2004
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Fall by Albert Camus
Possibly my favorite book ever. It still draws me in. The analogy of peeling onion layers is most obvious in reading it. Read more
Published on Sep 16 2003 by DAVID E KLABOE
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Fallen World Devoid of Laughter
The Fall by Albert Camus is a short, disturbing work about the "fallen" life of Jean-Baptiste Clamence, the narrator of the story. Read more
Published on Sep 14 2003 by benjamin
4.0 out of 5 stars
Challenging
My favorite book for Camus, his style in writing is very provocative, and challenging. Forces you to think of his personality and how that relates to us. Read more
Published on July 17 2003 by Space
4.0 out of 5 stars
Existentialist masterpiece
I read the old Penguin translation over ten years ago, and have re-read it a couple of times since. This is my favorite Camus book: very sombre and thought-provoking, I cant do... Read more
Published on Jun 10 2003
5.0 out of 5 stars
Like a mirror
In "The Fall", Camus flexes his literary abilities and shows us again that he is the master of creating storys that incite the reader to question aspects of his or her... Read more
Published on April 12 2003 by Taylor
4.0 out of 5 stars
A deep, unique novel
This is one of the most evocative and reflective novels I have ever read. The novel chronicles the confession of Jean-Baptiste Clemence, a former hotshot Parisian lawyer, to an... Read more
Published on Jan 10 2003 by Torsten Anderson
4.0 out of 5 stars
Nice
This is a great little book about crawling up inside one's own mind and finding out that we are all original sinners. We hold the key to our own demise in our very nature. Read more
Published on Jan 7 2003 by Gordon Smith
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