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Samadrita's Reviews > The Fall
The Fall
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Samadrita's review
bookshelves: nobel-laureates, philosophy-philosophical, european-literature, 1001-and-more, re-readable, cherished, france, non-fiction-ish, existentialism-absurdism, novellas-short-novels-short-stories, brain-fodder
Dec 07, 2012
bookshelves: nobel-laureates, philosophy-philosophical, european-literature, 1001-and-more, re-readable, cherished, france, non-fiction-ish, existentialism-absurdism, novellas-short-novels-short-stories, brain-fodder
Do you want to have the very foundations on the basis of which your whole outlook towards life has been shaped, questioned?
Do you want to see the lines between so-called good and evil, right and wrong, the moral and immoral blurred to the extent you could not distinguish one from the other?
Do you want to erase that cherished and precious point of reference, against which you have compared, weighed all your actions, thoughts and feelings so far?
If the answer to the above 3 questions is yes, then go ahead and read Albert Camus. You may end up falling in love with his work, his notions on moral ambiguity and grudgingly marveling at his genius.
Did I love this book? Yes.
Did I understand every aspect of it? Yes and No. Might take me a few more reads.
Did I love the prose? Oh hell yes.
Do I know whether to label this book as a kind of doctrine on nihilism or existentialism or a curious combination of both? Oh hell no.
Do you want to see the lines between so-called good and evil, right and wrong, the moral and immoral blurred to the extent you could not distinguish one from the other?
Do you want to erase that cherished and precious point of reference, against which you have compared, weighed all your actions, thoughts and feelings so far?
If the answer to the above 3 questions is yes, then go ahead and read Albert Camus. You may end up falling in love with his work, his notions on moral ambiguity and grudgingly marveling at his genius.
Did I love this book? Yes.
Did I understand every aspect of it? Yes and No. Might take me a few more reads.
Did I love the prose? Oh hell yes.
Do I know whether to label this book as a kind of doctrine on nihilism or existentialism or a curious combination of both? Oh hell no.
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The Fall.
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Quotes Samadrita Liked
“But do you know why we are always more just and generous toward the dead? The reason is simple. With them there is no obligation. They leave us free and we can take our time, fit the testimonial between a cocktail party and a nice little mistress, in our spare time, in short.”
― The Fall
― The Fall
“That's the way man is, cher monsieur. He has two faces: he can't love without self-love.”
― The Fall
― The Fall
“I am well aware that one can't get along without domineering or being served. Every man needs slaves as he needs fresh air. Commanding is breathing - you agree with me? And even the most destitute manage to breathe.”
― The Fall
― The Fall
“I loved them, according to the hallowed expression, which amounts to saying that I never loved any of them.”
― The Fall
― The Fall
“Of course, true love is exceptional - two or three times a century, more or less. The rest of the time there is vanity or boredom.”
― The Fall
― The Fall
“In short, for me to live happily it was essential for the creatures I chose not to live at all. They must receive their life, sporadically, only at my bidding.”
― The Fall
― The Fall
“Inasmuch as every judge some day ends up as a penitent, one had to travel the road in the opposite direction and practice the profession of penitent to be able to end up as a judge.”
― The Fall
― The Fall
“I was wrong, after all, to tell you that the essential was to avoid judgement. The essential is being able to permit oneself everything, even if, from time to time, one has to profess vociferously one's own infamy.”
― The Fall
― The Fall
Reading Progress
December 7, 2012
–
Started Reading
December 7, 2012
– Shelved
December 7, 2012
– Shelved as:
nobel-laureates
December 7, 2012
– Shelved as:
philosophy-philosophical
December 7, 2012
– Shelved as:
european-literature
December 7, 2012
– Shelved as:
1001-and-more
December 7, 2012
–
79.0%
"The kind of book which requires at least a second reading before you qualify to write a review."
December 7, 2012
– Shelved as:
re-readable
December 8, 2012
– Shelved as:
cherished
December 8, 2012
–
Finished Reading
December 9, 2012
– Shelved as:
france
December 28, 2012
– Shelved as:
non-fiction-ish
January 25, 2013
– Shelved as:
existentialism-absurdism
February 10, 2013
– Shelved as:
novellas-short-novels-short-stories
September 19, 2013
– Shelved as:
brain-fodder
Comments Showing 1-8 of 8 (8 new)
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Samadrita
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rated it 5 stars
Jul 17, 2013 10:10AM
Thank you, Aizl. I'm glad to know it was persuasive enough.
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Hi, I have an ebook for this title, but it has only 45 pages, and here it says some 160 pages.I haven't started it yet in fear that it is some summarized edition, or I don't know. Since you guys have read it already may be you could help...
Below are the starting lines of each chapter like sections:
1. MAY I, monsieur, offer my services...
2. WHAT is a judge-penitent? Ah, I intrigued...
3. REALLY, mon cher compatriote, I am grateful to you...
4. A DOLL’S village, isn’t it? No shortage...
5. You are wrong, cher, the boat...
6. I’M EMBARASSED to be in bed when you arrive....
And the book ends with line "It’s too late now. It will
always be too late. Fortunately!"
Please tell if i have the complete book.
Thanks a lot in advance. :)
Yes, this is the complete book.
But it is not about moral ambiguity... it is about absolute moral clarity... all of existentialism is. To take refuge in moral ambiguity would be the greatest sin. it is about getting that point of reference, not erasing it :) anyway, do check out my review. I am sure your opinion on this has also changed over the years.
Riku wrote: "But it is not about moral ambiguity... it is about absolute moral clarity... all of existentialism is. To take refuge in moral ambiguity would be the greatest sin. it is about getting that point of..."Trust you to find the review I have thought of deleting or changing over the years. I read this at a time when I knew as much about existentialism as I know now about the engineering of the Mars orbiter. Thankfully my ideas about existentialism are a bit clearer than they were in the past...that it is a doctrine of optimism as Sartre put it and how the fate of an entire civilization rests on the individual choice. This one needs a re-read for sure.
Samadrita wrote: "Riku wrote: "But it is not about moral ambiguity... it is about absolute moral clarity... all of existentialism is. To take refuge in moral ambiguity would be the greatest sin. it is about getting ..."Ha! Sorry. I just wanted to bring your attention to this. I knew that you had been reading more of Sartre and thought you might want to revisit your ideas on this book.
Riku wrote: "Samadrita wrote: "Riku wrote: "But it is not about moral ambiguity... it is about absolute moral clarity... all of existentialism is. To take refuge in moral ambiguity would be the greatest sin. it..."Ok the previous comment came out all wrong...it's my fault for letting this sad excuse of a review go on existing, certainly not yours for commenting on it. You really shouldn't apologize. That's basically my embarrassment speaking in the first comment. Found your review vastly enlightening as is expected.
Do you not think it is over-pessimistic? See my review) People like Thomas Mann were analysing the human condition long before the existentialists!
