scarecrow reviews

Albert Camus - Between Hell and Reason

This book, whilst chronologically following the events of the French Resistance and the German occupation of France, also serves as a concise insight into the political philosophies behind such noted works as The Outsider , The Plague , The Myth of Sisyphus , The Rebel and, more importantly, the man himself. With an unmitigated introduction by Elizabeth Young-Bruehl and a clear translation by Alexander De Garmont this collection of Combat (Parisian resistance Newspaper) editorials fully illustrates Camus' underlying beliefs throughout some of the most tumultuous events of his short epoch. Each editorial is journalistically laconic and deeply personal. Each conveying an intrinsic belief of the imperative and that man is ultimately wrong. Always a bastion of revolt Camus' sought to find an alternative solution to the prisons created by our own very actions and beliefs. This collection should be read for what it is - a mind at work demanding the impossible. Always searching, contradicting, sifting and longing for that clear answer.

Lee Rourke © 2004.