Books by Albert Camus

In this profound and moving philosophical statement, Camus poses the fundamental question: Is life worth living? If human existence holds no significance, what can keep us from suicide?As Camus argues, if there is no God to give meaning to our lives, humans must take on that purpose themselves. This is our 'absurd' task, like Sisyphus forever rolling his rock up a hill, as the inevitability of death constantly overshadows us. Written during the bleakest days of the Second World War, The Myth of Sisyphus argues for an acceptance of reality that encompasses revolt, passion and, above all, liberty.This volume contains several other essays, including lyrical evocations of the sunlit cities of Algiers and Oran, the settings of his great novels The Outsider and The Plague.Albert Camus is the author of a number of best-selling and highly influential works, all of which are published by Penguin. They include The Fall, The Outsider and The First Man. He is remembered as one of the few writers to have shaped the intellectual climate of post-war France, but beyond that, his fame has been international.Translated by Justin O'BrienWith an Introduction by James Wood

Symbolsk roman om en pestepidemi, der i 1940'erne bryder ud i byen Oran i Algeriet.

The townspeople of Oran are in the grip of a deadly plague, which condemns its victims to a swift and horrifying death. Fear, isolation and claustrophobia follow as they are forced into quarantine. Each person responds in their own way to the lethal disease: some resign themselves to fate, some seek blame, and a few, like Dr Rieux, resist the terror.An immediate triumph when it was published in 1947, The Plague is in part an allegory of France's suffering under the Nazi occupation, and a story of bravery and determination against the precariousness of human existence.An immediate triumph when it was published in 1947, The Plague is in part an allegory of France's suffering under the Nazi occupation, and a story of bravery and determination against the precariousness of human existence.

Det filosofiske essay udkom på fransk i 1942 og fremstår i dag som en nøgle til forståelsen af begreberne absurditet og eksistens i Albert Camus' forfatterskab.

En ung franskmand i Algeriet, Meursault, lever et ganske almindeligt hverdagsliv, indtil han en dag på grund af tilfældige omstændigheder skyder et menneske, han overhovedet ikke kender. Alt, hvad der sker omkring Meursault, oplever han på en underlig søvngængeragtig måde uden rigtig at forstå meningen med hverken det, sig selv eller verden. Han skelner ikke mellem godt og ondt. For ham har alle handlinger samme gyldighed. Romanen er nyoversat af Hans Peter Lund.

The Rebel is Camus's 'attempt to understand the time I live in' and a brilliant essay on the nature of human revolt. Published in 1951, it makes a daring critique of communism - how it had gone wrong behind the Iron Curtain and the resulting totalitarian regimes. It questions two events held sacred by the left wing - the French Revolution of 1789 and the Russian Revolution of 1917 - that had resulted, he believed, in terrorism as a political instrument.In this towering intellectual document, Camus argues that hope for the future lies in revolt, which unlike revolution is a spontaneous response to injustice and a chance to achieve change without giving up collective and intellectual freedom.

Meursault leads an apparently unremarkable bachelor life in Algiers until he commits a random act of violence. His lack of emotion and failure to show remorse only serve to increase his guilt in the eyes of the law, and challenges the fundamental values of society - a set of rules so binding that any person breaking them is condemned as an outsider. For Meursault, this is an insult to his reason and a betrayal of his hopes; for Camus it encapsulates the absurdity of life.In The Outsider (1942), his classic existentialist novel, Camus explores the predicament of the individual who refuses to pretend and is prepared to face the indifference of the universe, courageously and alone.

Is it possible to die a happy death? This is the central question of Camus's astonishing early novel, published posthumously and greeted as a major literary event. It tells the story of a young Algerian, Mersault, who defies society's rules by committing a murder and escaping punishment, then experimenting with different ways of life and finally dying a happy man. In many ways A Happy Death is a fascinating first sketch for The Outsider, but it can also be seen as a candid self-portrait, drawing on Camus's memories of his youth, travels and early relationships. It is infused with lyrical descriptions of the sun-drenched Algiers of his childhood - the place where, eventually, Mersault is able to find peace and die 'without anger, without hatred, without regret'.

A new collection of Albert Camus' most brilliant speeches and lectures'Freedom is dangerous, as hard to live as it is exalting...'This definitive new collection of Albert Camus' public speeches and lectures gives a compelling insight into one of the twentieth century's most enduring writers. From a pre-war speech on the politics of the Mediterranean - delivered when he was just twenty-two - to his impassioned Nobel Prize acceptance lectures and several pieces appearing in English for the first time, Speaking Out shows Camus' clarity and subtlety of thought, his 'stubborn humanism' and his unerring commitment to freedom and justice.Translated by Quintin Hoare

"Die Pest" von Albert Camus ist Weltliteratur. Der französische Autor veröffentlichte das Drama 1947, zu einer Zeit als die Folgen des Zweiten Weltkriegs noch sehr präsent waren. Schauplatz ist die Stadt Oran an der algerischen Küste in den 1940er Jahren. Sie wird von einer Pestepidemie heimgesucht, die tausende Menschen das Leben kostet. Um die Weiterverbreitung zu verhindern, wird die Stadt abgeriegelt. Zentrale Figur des Dramas ist ein Arzt, der unermüdlich versucht den Schwarzen Tod zu bekämpfen. Zu Beginn scheint es, als würde es kein Muster geben, als würde niemand verschont bleiben. Doch bald zeigt sich, dass vor allem jene sterben, die sich unsolidarisch zeigen. Die Seuche in Camus Drama gilt als metaphorisch für die Moral während des Zweiten Weltkriegs. Es ist eine Abrechnung mit dem Mangel an Menschlichkeit während einer Katastrophe und gleichzeitig ein zeitloser Appell sich dieser zu besinnen. Albert Camus (1913-1960) war französischer Schriftsteller und Philosoph. Den Großteil seines Lebens verbrachte er in Algerien, zur damaligen Zeit noch Französisch-Nordafrika. Seine Familie waren Siedler dritter Generation, er hatte sowohl französische als auch spanische Wurzeln. Aufgrund einer Tuberkuloseerkrankung war es ihm nicht möglich als Soldat in den Krieg zu gehen, die Kriegsjahre verbrachte er an stattdessen vor allem im besetzten Paris. Hier arbeitete er als Journalist im Widerstand und schrieb fünf Jahre lang an dem Drama "Die Pest", das heute als Weltliteratur gilt. Zusammen mit Sartre gilt er als einer der Vordenker des Existentialismus und einige seiner Werke gelten als grundlegende Werke der Nachkriegsliteratur. Er wurde 1957 mit dem Literaturnobelpreis ausgezeichnet.

'To create today is to create dangerously'Camus argues passionately that the artist has a responsibility to challenge, provoke and speak up for those who cannot in this powerful speech, accompanied here by two others.Penguin Modern: fifty new books celebrating the pioneering spirit of the iconic Penguin Modern Classics series, with each one offering a concentrated hit of its contemporary, international flavour. Here are authors ranging from Kathy Acker to James Baldwin, Truman Capote to Stanislaw Lem and George Orwell to Shirley Jackson; essays radical and inspiring; poems moving and disturbing; stories surreal and fabulous; taking us from the deep South to modern Japan, New York's underground scene to the farthest reaches of outer space.

Includes the full French text, accompanied by French-English vocabulary. Notes and a detailed introduction in English put the work in its social and historical context.

A gripping tale of human horror, survival and resilience, and of the ways in which humankind confronts death. This is a Welsh adaptation by Anna Gruffydd of La Peste, a masterfully crafted novel, eloquently understated and epic in scope, and a parable of ageless moral resonance, profoundly relevant to our times during the Covid age.

La collection « Connaître une oeuvre » vous offre la possibilité de tout savoir de La Peste de Camus grâce à une fiche de lecture aussi complète que détaillée.La rédaction, claire et accessible, a été confiée à un spécialiste universitaire.Cette fiche de lecture répond à une charte qualité mise en place par une équipe d¿enseignants.Ce livre contient la biographie de Camus, la présentation de La Peste, le résumé détaillé, les raisons du succès, les thèmes principaux et l¿étude du mouvement littéraire de l¿auteur.

La collection « Connaître une oeuvre » vous offre la possibilité de tout savoir du Mythe de Sisyphe de Albert Camus grâce à une fiche de lecture aussi complète que détaillée. La rédaction, claire et accessible, a été confiée à un spécialiste universitaire. Cette fiche de lecture répond à une charte qualité mise en place par une équipe d'enseignants. Ce livre contient la biographie de Albert Camus, la présentation du Mythe de Sisyphe, le résumé détaillé, les raisons du succès, les thèmes principaux et l'étude du mouvement littéraire de l'auteur.