
A Happy Death
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Narrated by:
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Jefferson Mays
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By:
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Albert Camus
In his first novel, A Happy Death, written when he was in his early 20s and retrieved from his private papers following his death in 1960, Albert Camus laid the foundation for The Stranger, focusing in both works on an Algerian clerk who kills a man in cold blood. But he also revealed himself to an extent that he never would in his later fiction. For if A Happy Death is the study of a rule-bound being shattering the fetters of his existence, it is also a remarkably candid portrait of its author as a young man.
As the novel follows the protagonist, Patrice Mersault, to his victim's house - and then, fleeing, in a journey that takes him through stages of exile, hedonism, privation, and death - it gives us a glimpse into the imagination of one of the great writers of the 20th century. For here is the young Camus himself, in love with the sea and sun, enraptured by women yet disdainful of romantic love, and already formulating the philosophy of action and moral responsibility that would make him central to the thought of our time.
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Good read
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Camus’ Existentialism has probably influenced my Life as much as any Philosophy I have known. A Happy Death has illuminated it even more. Four Stars ****
Interesting prequel to L’Étranger
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The answer to life for Camus is not that humans are Superman or Superwoman because there is no God, but that any human man or woman can choose, or not choose, to have purpose in life. Camus views the world as an absurd place where anything can happen but that does not mean one cannot choose a purpose in life.
Camus’s story about Absurdism only begins with a suicide. The person who plans his suicide has a gun to end his life but by someone he chooses. The choice is made by Camus's main character, a person wandering through life with no purpose. Camus's main character explains he lived a life that earned him two million dollars. It was earned with purpose, by any means necessary. His purpose in life is to become wealthy. He achieves that purpose, but now as an amputee, he feels he can no longer pursue that purpose. The main character of the story is given two million dollars to shoot the amputee and make it look like a suicide with a note written by the amputee.
It seems Camus believes it is better to be an Absurdist than a Nihilist. That puts a fine point on the question of suicide. A Nihilist like Nietzsche, presumably, would call one who commits suicide a coward. An Absurdist like Camus would suggest suicide is an option.
WHAT'S THE POINT
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Having said that, I would concur, however, with the usual criticism that it isn’t up to his later and better works.
I don’t want to reveal the plot, so I’ll be careful here. I don’t buy the lesson Camus may be trying to teach us. But, then again, I’m not an existentialist. I do think, however, that certain alternative plot courses would’ve made me be more positively inclined.
The narration is good, but not 5 star.
If you need to see this powerful author at work early in life, by all means get it. If not, you could very easily take a pass.
Glad to Have Experienced It, but Disappointed
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Camus Secret Masterpiece
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Not My Favorite Camus
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