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The Myth of Sisyphus: And Other Essays [Paperback]

Albert Camus
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
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Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
THERE is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide. Read the first page
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Camus' introduction to the absurd May 8 2003
Format:Paperback
I have read this essay several times and I have to say that the ideas here can be dangerous.

If the ideas that have been written in this book i.e. the meaningless state of existence, its absurdity in the light of atheism and the point of it all have not been raised independently by the reader, then the reader is likely to get caught in a dangerous maze.

The essay is beautifully written, the ideas are wonderfully interwoven and there is a sense that Camus is facing those important questions dead in the face. But aside from all that the greatest thing about Camus' essay is his directness. Every sentence in this book has some depth in it, there is not one superficial idea. The quotations leave the reader deep in thought and stay carved in the mind.

But as I mentioned and perhaps because of these reasons the book is dangerous. From the point of view of Camus, a man that looks at the world logically, he cannot help but come to the conclusion that it is absurd. Hence despair reigns, and then there is the necessary existential choice that the individual is faced with.

To me these questions are far more important than any others. When man knows that at the end of this great struggle he is faced with the nothingness, he wonders what is the point of it all. But is there? Camus answers positively that there is a point in living. By keeping the struggle alive and being absorbed in the finite condition that existence brings forth, in the mutation of consciousness an alternative set of values is introduced and everything is seen in a new light.

I know that many of the ideas here have already been covered by other thinkers in the past. Camus admits this and further mentions them in their struggle and ethics.

Camus has done a wonderful job, and this is a great introduction to his other novels, which illuminate the absurd and mans struggle.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Unique and relevant definition of modern man Jan 6 2003
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
The Myth of Sisyphus is more of a literary essay than a philosophical one, and most of the thoughts in it aren't too original. Camus notes numerous times that he is merely trying to clarify a modern "climate" of thought so that his generation might be able to build from it. The nature of the book is incredibly original, and this unique essay is a remarkable testimony of the human condition, a key to understanding Camus's other works, and a beautiful definition of what I suppose is loosely termed "existentialist" thought.

What is daunting about the book is that Camus seems to be a little uneasy about where to start describing his philosophy of the absurd. The style of writing is swift, energetic, and lyrical, but frustratingly inprecise and vague (a little like Grand in the Plague who can't seem to find the right words). Camus creates in the book his own unique vocabulary that takes some getting used to, and often the book sounds repetitive. Words like lucid, nostalgia, fecund, and ephemeral are repeated ad nauseum. The upshot is, if one bothers to read the whole work, these words do begin to take on new meanings.

The best bits of the book are those in which Camus can find definite examples that illustrate or describe his point. When, for instance, he describes what it feels like to be overwhelmed by a feeling of absurdity, what it feels like to long for "oneness" (nostalgia), and what its like to return from abstraction to distraction. These are things that almost every human being encounters at least once in their life, and Camus never touches so close to his reader as when he faces, with great intellectual courage, these all-too-human feelings.

His examples of absurd heroes also make for great reading and much food-for-thought. The weakest is probably his essay on "Don Juan," which at times sounds a bit too much like a notorious womanizer justifying himself in his philosophy. Still, after revisiting the story of Don Juan, one is forced to reflect on Camus's message -- maybe this absurd hero, who defied God and loved in such quantity really IS something noble. Better, however, is his essay on Dostoyevsky's Kirilov and his philosophical suicide. Kirilov's absurd logic, which makes him God in an illogical circumstance where God does not exist, is a definitive piece of absurd thought.

The essay "Myth of Sisyphus" is a reiteration of the books themes in a more literary format, and since Sisyphus is the quintessential man-in-revolt, it makes a perfect capstone for the book. The appendix on Kafka (presumably left out in the original book, published in occupied France, because the author was Jewish) has given me a new perspective on his work. Camus points out, perfectly, the natural reaction of humanity to absurdity that defines Kafka's work, and in fact man's current condition. The idea of the Castle as a response to the Trial had never occured to me, and I enjoyed Camus, an athiest, delving into the religious points in Kafka's novels.

The other essays are a mixed bag. Some from "Summer" (L'Ete) which is collected in its enitirety in the volume "Lyrical and Critical Essays." A few other stray pieces and a questionaire are included. "The Minotaur" -- the longest of the additional pieces -- is a torturously long lyrical adventure through Oran that is a necessary evil to be visited before reading The Plague. One essay, recounting a 1953 visit back to Algeria, is moving in its emotional intensity, but the thought of Camus's mammoth failure during the Algerian crisis is unfortunately close to mind. The questionaire is brief and reveals a lot about Camus's temprement -- his mistrust of ideologies in particular. It is notable for some appreciated comments about the "true left" not being removed from its passionate humanism. These assorted pieces seem a little bit like junkyard scraps after finishing the essays of The Myth of Sisyphus. Still, they are worth looking at.

Very relevant, and one Camus's most remarkable achievements (along with the Stranger and The Fall). A must read for all Camus fans.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Sartre said this book should be read as you read The Stranger, and I have found that advice to be valuable to my students. My kids are always a bit bewildered about the scene where Mersault kills the Arab, but when they read, "The greatest good is the greatest consciousness," they begin to see why the Stranger was so strange. And when he "awakens" just before dawn of the day he is to die, and the students read, "You must live your life as if you have been condemned to die and sun is beginning to rise," they begin to understand. The title essay for the book argues what I think is the final argument in the Ontological question raised by the Greeks: Since life is absurd, where the meanings should be is a vacuum, and we desperately want meaning when we recognize our necessary death, then we are free to make our own meanings, and it is the making of meaning that is the point of living; that is, the growth of individual consciousness. Camus, then, is the great optimist in a time of great pessimism.
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Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful and compelling work--an invitation to discomfort
It is interesting to note that, in spite of the gorgeous way in which Camus describes the joy that is the physical, immanent world, what Camus insists of the reader is no more than... Read more
Published on Dec 22 2003 by Charles E. Choc Jr.
5.0 out of 5 stars A few words about reading a book like this
Seriously folks, I have never read such horrible reviews on amazon.com ever. The people who are supposed to be "reviewing" this book have launched into diatribes about... Read more
Published on Oct 18 2003
5.0 out of 5 stars Pleased
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... Read more
Published on Aug 10 2003 by Seth
4.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening subject and an enlightened finding
The Myth of Sisyphus gets right to the point. The problem is is suicide the answer to the absurd. If you are not familiar with Camus' definition of the absurd you will have to... Read more
Published on July 22 2003 by Brandon A. Schwarz
2.0 out of 5 stars A confusing concept
I read this book when I was around 15 years old and I was forced to read it. I know you can't really expect a 15 year old to understand one of Camus' works, but I had to. Read more
Published on Jun 6 2003 by Jackie
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!!!
In this series of essays Camus, the giant of literature, confronts the most vexing question of our times. Read more
Published on Jan 1 2003 by keith steele
5.0 out of 5 stars Each person in the world is a Sisyphus
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. Read more
Published on Oct 3 2002 by Huang, Hsinkai
3.0 out of 5 stars Just a few thoughts, not an actual review
...

First of all, coming off of THE STRANGER, the incredible generalities spewed in this book are pretty thick and tough to comprehend. Read more

Published on May 14 2002 by "edwartell"
5.0 out of 5 stars untitled 1
The Myth of Sisyphus is a must to fully comprehend Camus. It is by far his greatest work, although not his most influential. Read more
Published on Jan 17 2002 by Won Lee
4.0 out of 5 stars not totally bleak as all that, but NOT optimism by any means
(...)
camus' writing has a unique, very personal beauty to it, but in some ways i find it tame and (his essays in particular)boring. Read more
Published on Nov 1 2001 by J from NY
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