Der Fall (German Edition)

Camus introduces to the reader, in a rare second-person point of view, to Jean-Baptiste Clamence. Camus' novel is almost interactive, with Clamence answering the reader's questions and taking the reader's hand. At points in the novel, the reader is actually telling Clamence what to do, and he is responding back. It is slightly eerie, but ingenious. The novel, however, is about Clamence's experiences in WWII, and how he has survived to become a deranged, off-kilter person. The last chapter is where Clamence exposes it all, in a confessional mode, and tells with his brutal candor what happened in WWII to make him become the way that he is. It is a fascinating novel, though depressing, as usual for Camus!!

Barely more than a hundred pages, "The Fall" represents Albert Camus' ultimate foray into the recesses of psychic anguish. Jean-Baptiste Clamence, a once-respected and successful Paris barrister, sits alone in an Amsterdam bar delivering his stark monologue to an unknown listener. It is a confessional narrative, a tale in which Clamence slowly unravels the spare facts of his life, his deceptions, his inauthenticity, his bad faith.
As he sits in the dimly lit bar, Clamence makes the locus of his telling a metaphor for the narrative to follow: "We are at the heart of things here. Have you noticed that Amsterdam's concentric canals resemble the circles of hell? The middle-class hell, of course, peopled with bad dreams. When one comes from the outside, as one gradually goes throught those circles, life-and hence its crimes-becomes denser, darker. Here we are in the last circle." It is a metaphor that resonates with existential imagery, reminiscent of Sartre's claim, in "No Exit", that "hell is other people." From this grim place, Camus writes a classic of Existentialist literature, building on this metaphor, writing an extended trope of unremitting self-examination, self-doubt and anguish.
Clamence was, by all outward appearances, both a virtuous and a modest man. His courtesy was famous and beyond question. He was generous in public and private, literally exulting at the approach of a beggar. He helped the blind man cross the street and the indigent defendant secure a reduced sentence. He ended his afternoons at the café with "a brilliant improvisation in the company of several friends on the hard-heartedness of our governing class and the hypocrisy of our leaders."
But appearances give lie to the truth, for the truth in "The Fall" is that life has no meaning, that it is full of ennui, and that people act unthinkingly, inauthentically, habitually. Thus, Clamence reflects on a man he knew, a man "who gave twenty years of his life to a scatter-brained woman, sacrificing everything to her," only to realize in the end that he never loved her. How does Clamence explain this? "He had been bored, that's all, bored like most people." And from this boredom, the man married and created "a life full of complications and drama." For, as Clamence suggests, "something must happen-and that explains most human commitments."
Clamence describes himself, too, as "a double face, a charming Janus," for his motives and feelings, his very psyche, belie his outward virtue. While outwardly supporting the poor and downtrodden, he is "well aware that one can't get along without dominating or being served, [for] every man needs slaves as he needs fresh air." While known as a defender of justice, a great Parisian lawyer, his "true desire" is not "to be the most intelligent or the most generous creature on earth, but only to beat anyone [he] wanted to, to be the stronger." While professing deep love and affection for the many women in his life, he is a misogynist who "never loved any of them." As Clamence cynically suggests, "true love is exceptional, [occurring] two or three times a century more or less. The rest of the time there is vanity or boredom."
"The Fall" is a little novel that makes the reader ponder big questions, questions of meaning and existence and death, of how we live our lives and of what motivates our actions. It is, in other words, a novel that articulates the open-ended questioning characteristic of the French Existentialism of the 1940s and 1950s. But it is more than that, for it is also perhaps the finest work of one of France's greatest Twentieth Century authors, a work that deserves to be read, re-read and pondered.

Prior to writing "The Fall", Albert Camus was undergoing a confessed "writer's block". Although working in the theater at the time and writing articles for several publications, he wrote to confidants that he felt himself "dried" and unable to create literature. When Robert Gallimard, the son of his publisher, read the work, he exclaimed, "You took us all for damn fools! So this is the literary impotence you were complaining about!". The result is somewhere in between.

"The Fall" is a monologue on the confession of one Jean-Baptiste Clamence, a Parisian lawyer "exiled" in Amsterdam. He befriends an unknown interlocutor and discusses his life to him. As his tale unravels, a myriad of contradictions arise, as the duplicity of the narrator's character reveals itself. For every noble and benevolent act and thought lies an unflattering design which leaves the former a mere facade. The narrator's solution to his personal crisis at the end of the novella is shortsighted as it is morally reprehensible, revealing a cycle of despair.

Camus skillfully interjects personal touches throughout this one-sided conversation, the lyricism and the personable tone of the main character adding peeks of sunlight in this bleak narrative.

"The Fall" may be the result of the author's insecurity at his writing state at the time. The first half of the work is thoroughly tedious, a seat-squirmer of the consistent kind. The writing reminded me of books on military theory where the author relates facts that we already know but never witnessed seeing on the printed page: neither revealing nor liberating. Camus has touched on general topics that we mostly experience and agree on, but none that are special to be worth reading. The work picks up on the second half, but never fully elevates itself beyond the "banal" which the author bizarrely accused Lautreamont in his "The Rebel" five years back. Perhaps it got back at him.

In this novelette of self and general study, Camus reveals humanity's psyche, man's hidden characteristic and the way people react to and treat each other. Said to be the author's most personal work, this is Camus venting a vein.

This is a great little book about crawling up inside one's own mind and finding out that we are all original sinners. We hold the key to our own demise in our very nature. It should be depressing, but it's presented in such an entertaining manner that it's really kinda fun. Important to note that it's just philosophy and therefore only one of an infinite number of hypotheses reagarding what's wrong with the human race. We may be messed up, and this may indeed explain why, but it's better to muse about this stuff than to take it seriously. After all, free will demands that we have the will to be free. And that may be the only true means of salvation.

I recently read The Stranger after surprising myself by how long I managed to go without ever reading it. I was so enthusiastic about The Stranger and Camus in general that I went out and picked up The Fall. As it turns out, I was a little too enthusiastic.
This was a very difficult book to get through for me - and I read just about everything out there. This is basically one side of a conversation in which the protagonist explains himself and his past to a stranger. The one redeemable thing about The Fall is that there is a certain striking and scary truth in the protagonist. I believe we can all see parts of ourselves in the character and the character is not very appealing. But there are certain truths revealed by The Fall that are universal.
While we can all gain some insight into ourselves, this is not an enjoyable read. Frankly, it was a struggle. Sometimes these literary struggles have a big payoff. This, however, did not. Consider it a 150 page character study. While very well executed, it lacked substance.

My favorite book for Camus, his style in writing is very provocative, and challenging. Forces you to think of his personality and how that relates to us. He is very detailed and makes you imagine exactly what he is going through.
One of those books that you have to stop once in a while and reflect on what message has been communicated. What is the hidden message behind all this, and how would that imply to me...
Even if you are not into these kind of books, I believe you should try reading it, quick reading, easy to follow through, and more than anything else enlightening.

Albert Camus, a typically existentialistic author, stunned the world and won the Nobel Prize for Literature after his publication of The Fall. Camus presents Jean-Baptiste Clamence as the narrator of his life story to a stranger whom he repeatedly refers to as "cher ami". His story is set in Amsterdam, after a seemingly non-sensible move from Paris, France. Readers are told immediately of his previous job in Paris, and see his expertise in law directly. What exactly caused Clamence's life to haut in Paris? Why would he suddenly drop everything he knew and flee to Amsterdam after having seemingly everything and a very successful career?
Questions such as these are the framing of Camus' novel, and are continually answered more thoroughly throughout the text, giving readers a full and detailed understanding of Clamence as a character. Camus successfully shows Clamence's inner struggle with himself as the novel dynamically becomes more and more existentialistic. Clamence is primarily seen as his previous self, successful, brilliant, personable, admired, and secretly, vain. The struggle presented in the novel is between these two sides: vanity and being true to oneself. Can Clamence escape the image he has created for himself and the falsities of his life?
In this stream of consciousness novel, Camus develops extensive philosophical ideas for Clamence, stating his appreciation for being "aloft". Clamence reflects, "Yes, I have never felt comfortable except in lofty places. Even in the details of daily life, I needed to feel above" (Camus 23). The early beginning to Clamence's reflections tell readers of the foreshadowing of the explanation of what happened to Clamence, and what eventually occurred to bring Clamence to breaking point. The changing of scenes from Paris (highly respected, beautiful) to Amsterdam (dirty, sinister) parallels the changing of Clamence as a person as well, which helps the novel to develop thoroughly. One detriment of Camus novel that halts the development is the constant, and monotonous at times, stream of consciousness used by Camus. At times the text seems to get wordy and confusing, altering meaning and confusing Camus' purpose.
Furthermore, Camus develops this novel around the contrasting ideas of Clamence and Former Clamence. Former Clamence was a ladies man, a charmer to say the least. Sleeping with many women on a regular basis due to his infirmity, maintaining his image of a highly respectable lawyer, and always prevailing over others through his brute passion and harmony for helping lost "widows and children". Juxtaposed to the present day Clamence, who has an evident liking for gin, increased pessimism for friendship and family members, and furthering ideas of the importance of death and suicide, Camus presents the tensions and obvious strains in becoming oneself and altering identities. The tensions presented add an important and beneficial aspect to the novel.

"The Fall" was my introduction to Camus. I believed it was high time that I read the work of this Nobel Laureate and, so, in I dived.

I regret to say that I was disappointed. Camus' short work is a monologue from its principal character, Jean-Batiste Clamence, who serves as the narrator of the tale. First person grammar is used to tell what can best be described as a very meandering story. To use the term plot would be unfair. The book simply has little or no such plot.

Now, it is probably quite unfair to come to a sweeping conclusion on the basis of one short work. The work of Camus is widely praised. Many people deem him to be one of the literary giants of the twentieth century. So, it is incumbent on me to read further into the work of Camus. I trust that my efforts will be rewarded in due course. For the moment, I feel somewhat cheated.

The least memorable Camus novel that I have read. The other books are more interesting as pieces of literary art, I think; by the time I got around to reading this novel, I'd already been through the whole "morality as empty formality" thing a number of times. And as I remember it (it's been a while), the brunt of the book is simply building up to and expounding on this idea. None of this is to say that it is a bad book; it is worth reading. Some may find it extremely rewarding. But I can't say it's a personal favorite.

Camus' The Fall continues the existentialist strain in this powerful artist. It is the story of a `just' man devoted to altruist acts of goodness. The novel proceeds as a monological confession in an Amsterdam bar-our narrator discusses his justice, and slowly reveals the ironical underbelly of his virtuous veneer. This is the story of descent, of damnation, and the consequences of freedom. An extremely beautiful and thoughtful text.

Camus' The Fall continues the existentialist strain in this powerful artist. It is the story of a `just' man devoted to altruist acts of goodness. The novel proceeds as a monological confession in an Amsterdam bar-our narrator discusses his justice, and slowly reveals the ironical underbelly of his virtuous veneer. This is the story of descent, of damnation, and the consequences of freedom. An extremely beautiful and thoughtful text.

This is one of the most evocative and reflective novels I have ever read. The novel chronicles the confession of Jean-Baptiste Clemence, a former hotshot Parisian lawyer, to an unknown, unspeaking companion. In his monologue, delivered over a period of several days, Jean tells of his old life and how he came to leave it. Jean tells his silent listener of how he had once been successful, admired, philanthropic, and content in his old life, even though his secret motive was to feel superior to those around him. Jean's life began to change when he came to the realisation that his apparent altruism arose out of his own self absorbtion and desire to be admired. As Jean's confession continues he tells how he was pushed out of his comfortable life by guilt over having not chosen to save the life of a woman who he encountered just as she was about to commit suicide, and, following that, the constant weight of judgement all around him. Jean talks of how judgement and guilt hounded him until he could no longer evade them. His confession is a way of facing self judgement and the judgement of others.
There is much reflection on morality, self-absobtion, the need to feel dominant, and the judgement and guilt that must be endured by each of us. It is woven around a complex core of philosophy (much of which is, admittedly, beyond my grasp) that gives the story great depth. I thoroughly enjoyed the introspective, thoughtful tone of the book. The thing that I truly reveled in, though, was Camus' spare yet eloquent imagery. The scene that Camus paints of Amsterdam, where the book is set, is incredibly suggestive and subtle. For another example, Jean compares Paris to an enourmous stage set, inhabited by silouettes consumed by pursuit of ideas and sex. Such imagery and the book's unique point of view are the main reasons why I believe this book to be of high calibre. I would recomend it to anyone who is willing to recognise a beautiful construction of words and read with an open mind.

Guilt and Loathing are two words that one could use to sum up the general idea behind The Fall. Although summaries never do anything justice, The Fall is an intricate confession of a guilty man. Jean-Baptise Clamence spends five days narriating the story of his downfall in a sea-level bar in Amsterdam. For some, The Fall represents the repression and failure of the commonalities of man, and that it does--however, it also represents the condition of the human character. Camus himself denied that he was an existentialist although he is guaranteed to be in almost any anthology of existintialist philosophy or literature. In The Fall, the reader witnesses the life of a well-respected Persian lawyer told in a monologue riddled with regret and perception. Clamance is an actor, Clamance is a man; he is a liar. Guilty. We are all guilty--for our flaws as well as perfections.

The Fall is somewhat the absolute opposite of Camus' other novella, The Stranger. Whereas in The Stranger, the main character is an emotionless man who acts somewhat impulsively, Clamance is a man who only reflects inward and finds nothing but resentment and guilt. Like many of Camus' novels, The Fall sort of drops off...Perhaps credit that to influnce from Kafka, perhaps credit that to Camus' own style--either way it reflects the idea of the absurd, the alienating and the estranged man: A stranger in a strange world. An excellent follow-up (sort of) book to The Stranger.

Great novel. Better than The Plague, but not quite as good as The Stranger.

The book is written by one of the most intelligent writers of fiction in the twentieth century, with wit and clarity many highly regarded contemporary writers will never achieve in their lifetime. The insight possessed by Albert Camus is reason enough to read this book, along with all his other works.

"Sometimes it is easier to see clearly into the liar than into the man who tells the truth. Truth, like light, blinds."

- Camus, The Fall

Soon after publishing The Fall, Albert Camus won the Nobel Prize for Literature. On the strength of this book alone, he deserved it. As a novel, The Fall improves upon its two predecessors, The Stranger and The Plague, in almost every way. The writing itself is much more confident, full of scathing wit and eloquent outrage. The intertwining of artistic aim and philosophical conviction is utterly seamless. Neither is compromised, as they were at times in the earlier works. Rather, both art and philosophy are employed here to serve the STORY. In short, The Fall delivers on what Camus had always promised- a masterful work of literature that also FORCES the reader to examine his/her life.
Jean-Baptiste Clamence is a "good guy." He uses his abilities as a lawyer to protect the poor and weak. When asked, he helps blind people across the street. Wherever one finds a righteous cause, he appears to support it. He is a well-respected member of the community. Could one truly find SERIOUS fault with such a person?
Well, as of late, Clamence has had a slight problem: he has felt the need to be honest, both with others and himself. The truth often leads people to strange places, and so Clamence, formerly rich and recently disgraced, finds himself at a sailors' bar in Amsterdam. Here, he finally comes clean about his life and his actions (one and the same, possibly?). He's no criminal, surely not, or not the WORST kind anyway. His crime is much more insidious, and it consists of what we are all guilty of: he is two-faced. His purest acts of selflessness are actually forms of self-deception, for they mask that in the end, he is really satisfying himself. The purest altruism hides a secret loathing of those he "helps"; the deepest, most self-sacrificial love conceals a seething desire to dominate.
In this dingy bar, Clamence unburdens himself, not just of his "crimes," but of the author's (catch the quote at the beginning of the book) and humanity's too. Only a strong (and dishonest) reader can finish this book without cringing in self-recognition at the daily hypocrisies that add up to the modern human condition. Camus does not necessarily counsel despair though. At different points in The Fall, one can see the ever-present potential of humanity to better itself. What Camus does doubt though is the general willingness of people (himself included) to make the personal choices needed to truly bring ABOUT this "betterment."
The Fall is not entirely bleak reading. In several places, it is laugh-out-loud funny (No! Surely not sober Camus...), displaying the humour of a barroom Voltaire. Moreover, few could fail to delight in the sheer craft and elegance of the author's prose. Still, the book does raise searing questions about how to live (or waste) one's life. If one has been "sleepwalking" before reading The Fall, it will be almost impossible to do afterwards. Wake up with this brilliant, unsparing slap in the collective face of mankind (including me....)!
(Note to above confused reviewer: the book is written in the SECOND PERSON.)

One of the most profound and intellectually challenging books I have had the pleasure of reading... It makes you think about things as most books rarely do. It's stylish and cleverly written... with the character sitting there telling you about his life and achievements until the end... when you realize what "the fall" really is. I am so glad that my English teacher made me read this book.

The success of the monologue,drawing the reader as if the one actually being spoken to,& the hard-hitting ingeniousness of the revelations that surmount & survey in volcanic insights separating the mask of superficiality with the face of its origins elevates Camus to one of the most penetrating psychiatrist's of all time.

The Fall by Albert Camus is a short, disturbing work about the "fallen" life of Jean-Baptiste Clamence, the narrator of the story. The entire work is actually Clamence's own narrative, which makes reading it more like listening to a type of confession; at the very least it is like being on the recieving end of a conversation.
As the title indicates, this books plays off of Christian themes heavily. The very idea of "the fall" is a fundamentally Christian notion of lost innocence (which is very much at the heart of this work); "Jean-Baptiste" - "John [the] Baptist" in English - describes himself as a type of prophet crying in the wilderness but refusing to come forth; the bar he frequents is described as a church (and one could argue that, by extension, his life in the bar is something of a participation in an inverted communion); entire discussions about redemption, forgiveness, and repentance fill the pages of this work.
Despite all of its religious imagery and imagination, however, it is a work that is completely devoid of any notions of real redemption, forgiveness or love. Clamence's/Camus' view is basically that this world is, indeed, fallen but that there is nothing else.
It is interesting that an entire discussion about the death of God takes place within this book. As Camus - like Nietzsche before him - notes, without God all meaning and transcendence is lost. The picture Camus paints of such a world is indeed compelling if God is dead; as Clamence says - tragically - at the end of the book, he would permit himself everything all over again but without laughter the next time. A world devoid of laughter is a world devoid of love; a world devoid of love is a world devoid of transcendence; a world devoid of transcendence is a world devoid of God.
This book is a heavy work that attempts to carry the weight of the world upon its existential shoulders. It is one of the better places to start if one is interested in getting a feel for existentialist philosophy and literature, as well as a post-Nietzschean worldview.
Upon finishing this book, one should listen closely to the sounds of a haunting silence, born of a world without laughter, and ask one's self whether or not that silence is compelling. Is it what one wants to hear? Is it what one does in fact hear? Perhaps ironically, it is only in such absence that the whisper of faith, hope, and love can be heard; indeed, fallenness cannot be the totality of being.
A viewpoint that denies laughter is, in the end, a viewpoint worth looking past, over, and beyond: in short, transcending.

A lot of people are disappointed with The Fall because it is not a straightforward morality play about how society only cares if you cry at your mother's funeral (i.e., The Stranger). The Fall is not as accessible, but ultimately more rewarding. It is a mature man's struggle to define himself, rather than an adolescent's ranting against the meaninglessness of the universe. For all of the good the hero has done, he knows that his accomplishments were byproducts of his efforts to enhance himself. The hero is not willing to engage in any true self-sacrifice (as evidenced by the ending, which I will not ruin). And the worst part is, given the same chance a second time, he knows that he would reach the same self-interested decision. It is a tale of a man who embraces self-loathing, having recognized that we are all fallen and having had enough of the nauseating narcissism characteristic of modern man. A story that only gets better as you get older. Enjoy!

In terms of Camus' entire output, The Fall probably ranks somewhere in the middle as far as quality is concerned, and of course, such categorization is subjective. Still, the middle point of Camus' ouvre is still top-caliber comparatively speaking. Clearly Camus was grappling, digging and searching for answers during this period, which was nothing new for him. He had broken off with Sartre and with the existentialist "school" that was focused on remedying social injustice. Camus had been a member of the French Communist party briefly in the 30's and Sartre wanted to take him back into the fold, but Camus rejected him (of course it's more complicated than that). However, if you're looking for a serious discussion of his soul-searching, you'd be better advised to turn to his essays of the period, rather than to this work, for The Fall represents Camus at play, having a bit of fun with his over-serious readership and with a movement (Existentialism) he felt had become over inflated. What he's doing here is basically taking his pants down and mooning the whole moody, intellectual crowd.
The Fall is a monologue (not a dialogue, as mentioned elsewhere), written in first person (not second, as, again, is enumerated several times in the course of reviews here). There is one character in the novel. He is a highly unreliable narrator, a point that is passed over in all the the store reviews. He is ostensibly a lawyer, yet his calling card says that he is an actor. Camus is practically yelling at the reader, telling him not to take anything the narrator says at face value: "You, for instance, <mon cher compatriote>, stop and think what your sign would be. You are silent? Well, you'll tell me later on. I know mine in any case: a double face, a charming Janus, and above it the motto of the house: 'Don't rely on it.' On my cards: 'Jean-Baptiste Clamence, play actor.'" The "Jean-Baptiste" is another clue, for if you are familiar with French literature it should ring a bell that Jean-Baptiste Poquelin was the famous playwright Moliere's given name. Not that Jean-Baptiste is that uncommon a name, but in the context, given the fact that the narrator refers to himself as an actor (Moliere acted in his own company), the referent is pretty glaring. So this is a story told by a comedian who is essentially improvising the whole thing, Commedia dell' Arte style. So if you're looking for referents, it has a lot more to do with Pirandello than with Kirkeggard.
The only reason for all this background is merely to make the point that this work should not be taken so seriously as it has been by a majority of the store reviewers, and by many in the literary community before them. Sure, Camus inserts a lot of angst-ridden, "life's a tale told by an idiot, signifying nothing," passages, but it's clear by the context that he is parodying himself and his "compatriotes." This is an intentional shaggy-dog story. He is having us on.
Read it for fun. Just don't overtax yourself looking for "deep" meaning here. It's a literary tromp-l'oeil. If the ending of the book doesn't convince you of that, nothing will.

Camus succeeds again in making me feel empathetic to his protagonist and profoundly uncomfortable with the complicity his accusatory prose forces on me. When reading him, I find beauty in Camus's brilliance but little with his turn of phrase. This isn't a book to read for escapist kicks. It took me three days to finish 148 pages.

You can read my full-length reviews at LitBeetle.com.

Through his character, Jean Baptiste Clamence, Camus exlpores what it means to be free in a world where men create virture out of will and whim. Clamence believes himself to be a good man, but when his virtue is tested by a call to sacrifice, he retreats to comfort, and realizes he is selfish and "fallen". He then recognizes that he is guilty and we are all guilty of pretension and ego-driven "altrusim".
Clamence states that the "weight of days" without the judgment and forgiveness of God is "dreadful". An excellent existential exploration of Christian symbols and psychology. A "must read" for Camus fans.

An excellent novel that takes you through the depths of hell in both the setting and how you feel after meeting Jean Baptiste Clamence. He is a character that charms the reader. No matter what he says, i could not see myself disliking him. An ideal read for existentialists.

This novel was not only Camus' best ever, but one of the best novels ever! I have searched for ages to find a book that discussed the human need for power and have had yet to find such a work. That is, until I came across The Fall. I found this book to touch upon the very essence of what drives human beings. A reader would have to be a self-deceptive one to deny that there are not elements of all of us in this book. Is not everyones goal in life to rise themselves above everyone else? Every act of goodwill is an act of feeding the ego. I must say that this is, by far, one of the best novels ever written!! A must-read for all!

Camus' spare and lucid novella is a scintillating send-up of many of the existentialists with whom he had had a falling-out. The extended monologue format is intriguing, and the perfect vehicle for the narrator's confessions. One is reminded of Dostoevsky's The Underground while reading The Fall, but Camus' message is far easier to swallow.

From the "philosphical" point of view it may be his best work. Set in a bar in Amsterdam, the narrator recounts stories and comments in a highly introspective way. Mostly it's a commentary on morality and an argument that no one is in a position to cast judgements on others - because everyone is already guilty (judge not, lest ye be judged). This was a haunting book which I read when I was younger (about ten years ago) and I still remember some lines from it very clearly.

This first-person narrated novel is very philosophical in the sense that the lawyer in the story expounds on the separation of morality and will. I could relate to the story because I really believe on the Nietschzean view on morality. amazing book!

Nobody can deny that camus was a true litterary prize and an intellectual. His essays, the stranger, the plague, and the other books are fantastic. The Fall, however, isn't. The point of view from which the novel is written makes reading tedious and confusing at times, while the message drags along. Camus made great comments on society, but in this book do we really care what he's saying?

I think some reviewers have either over-thought or misinterpereted. Camus' The Fall. Camus was not in a point of spiritual or emotional turmoil during this book. Those are the words of one who has read the bible one too many times. Although Jean-Baptiste does quote quite a few stories from the bible, at that time in history almost everyone read the bible at least once, so it may seem through Jean-Baptiste that Camus has strong religious views. Yes, Jean-Baptiste is a very convenient name for a character of a religous story, but I believe Camus' intended use of this name was more for ironic/satircal purposes.

If one follows his life correctly, then they find that the existentialistic Albert Camus was anything but religious. In fact, the pure definition of Existentialism is to believe that there is no order for anything in the universe. To have no divine plan of any one or many person's will. Existentialism also focuses on freedom of choice, and responsibilities for one's actions. Almost the polar opposite view from religion. No, there was no spiritual confusion in Albert Camus life, and if there was, the last thing it would send him to would have been religion.

As far as the novel itself is concerned, La Chute was written AFTER Camus toured the United States during months in 1943 and 1944. Camus found that the US populous, and in fact the world itself, had a very confused idea of existentialism. He wrote The Fall to show the world through Jean-Baptiste exactly what existentialism was; or to be percise, what it wasn't.

The Novel's everlasting wit and satire is what Camus sees as the world's construded view of existentialism. The fact that Jean-Baptiste "crushes them under the weight of his own infirmity" is showing how existentialism emphasizes the taking of responsibility for one's own actions. If all one takes away from The Fall is the sudden realization of hope and faith in the end of the novel, then you might as well only read the last 30 or so pages: The rest of the novel would be a waste of such a person's time.

An excellent book! This novel can be a bit confusing because it is a monologue. But every time you read it, you will find something new. This is a very cleverly organized interesting piece of work, in a way similar to Dante's Inferno... After reading this, the view of Amsterdam from the airplane looked exactly like what's been described in the novel--canals were just like circles of hell.

This "novel", if you want to call it that, consists of an ex-lawyer who calls himself a "judge-penitent" prattling on to a presumably interested (though I can't figure out why) fellow he meets at a bar about his life. I suppose he is confessing, in a way, yet I found his confessions to be full of arrogance and pride even from the beginning, especially concerning his sexual conquests. If I were the listener, I'd try to get away from this blowhard as soon as I could. As a reader, I did manage to finish the book, after all it is fairly short and not particularly difficult. Many people who read this believe that it describes the human condition well, and can see glimpses of themselves in this man. Well, if they look hard enough, most people could see glimpses of themselves in the Unabomber, too. I found this book to be a total waste of time.

In my humble opinion, after reading all of the works of Albert Camus, I still think that "The Fall" its one of the best works from him, the angusty and anger of Camus is reflected in the ways of Jean Baptiste, the critics are incrideble, and the plot is simple but with such a bitirness...
Such an amazing work...

CAMUS BRILLIANCE SHINES... PLAIN AND SIMPLE, GETS RIGHT TO THE POINT....ESSENTIAL TO ANYONE INTERESTED IN AN INTRO TO CAMUS. SHOULD BE A PRE-REQUISITE FOR ANY OF THE ESSAYS. IE. THE REBEL, THE MYTH..

Camus' work asks on what grounds we judge others and ourselves. A pinnacle of existentialist thought fits the world into the perception of one rather bent individual. Though rather pompous (I'm enlightened and therfore can see the stars) it calls forth a forcefully disengaged view of the social mores which we hold to be commonplace. A must read for lovers of "The Catcher in the Rye" or Demian

This is a monologue of a confession by a Parisian lawyer to another over the course of five days. This monologue follows the life of a successful lawyer who is also a libertine into his dissolution.

Despite my best efforts, I found nothing laugh out loud funny nor anything remotely interesting in this book.

Nobel prize? Unbelievable.

In "The Fall", Camus flexes his literary abilities and shows us again that he is the master of creating storys that incite the reader to question aspects of his or her personality. He wastes little time describing the setting, as he puts emphasis on the dialoge between a libertine lawyer and an anonymous listener. At first, this lawyer braggs about his generosity and good will. But little by little, he reveals his true, indifferent self under this facade of propriety. This is what Camus means by "The Fall".
This is a short, but immaculately written classic piece of literature that forces you to question your identity.