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Product Description
Product Description
The unfinished manuscript of The First Man was discovered in the wreckage of car accident in which Camus died in 1960. Although it was not published for over thirty years, it was an instant bestseller when it finally appeared in 1994. The 'first man' is Jacques Cormery, whose poverty-stricken childhood in Algiers is made bearable by his love for his silent and illiterate mother, and by the teacher who transforms his view of the world. The most autobiographical of Camus's novels, it gives profound insights into his life and the powerful themes underlying his work.
About the Author
Albert Camus was born in Algeria in 1913. The works that established his international reputation include THE PLAGUE, THE FALL, THE REBEL and THE OUTSIDER. Camus died in a road accident in 1960 and is remembered as one of the greatest philsophical novelists of the twentieth century.
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First Sentence
Up above the wagon rolling along a stony road, big thick clouds were hurrying East through the dusk. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Up above the wagon rolling along a stony road, big thick clouds were hurrying East through the dusk. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Having read a number of other books by Camus, such as The Fall, The Outsider, A Happy Death, and The Plague, I thought I'd try my luck here, although on picking up the book, I was a little put off at first...
Primarily, it must be noted that the book in question, The First Man, was not finished by Camus. Indeed, on reading the prologue by his daughter, Catherine Camus, we find that the manuscript of this incomplete work was found with the author in the car which he died in following an accident. Consequently, on reading the actual text, there are many footnotes to aid the reader, almost on every page, pointing out that a certain character's name has changed, or that Camus had made a mistake which he had not got round to changing before his death, etc.
Secondly, we find that The First Man, although not an autobiography, is, by and large, autobiographical in relation to the content with regards to the author's own life. However, we only reach the stage of Jacques Cormery's life (ie. Camus), where he is near to completing his education at the lycée in Algiers, and consequently we do not have the blistering accounts of how he was to travel to France under German occupation to aid the Resistence, or of when his literary fame came into being.
So, with all this in mind, why have I given this 5 stars- Why read The First Man?
Firstly, this is a touching book, and although sadly much was not written due to the author's untimely death in 1960, he did manage to get a lot down about his birth in a mall village in Algeria under French rule, about his Franco-Spanish ancestry, about the seering heat of the African sun hanging over the sand and sea of the Mediterranean in the 1920's. We feel the pleasures of a poor family, their hopes and fears and dreams, and share funny glimpses of everyday life (like uncle Ernest picking flees off his dog). We see the playground fights, the tensions between the Arabs and Europeans in the streets and desert, and the daily struggle to survive in general. The characters are real, and the scenary too is brought to life, and this book (even unfinished it has 260 pages) is a real page- turner.
This edition also has, at the 'end', a section of Camus' notes, showing how the novel would have developed, and a picture soon emerges, confirming the readers suspicions from the start that, on visiting his dead father's grave (he had been killed in World War One, when Camus was just one), the author is looking for a man he does not know and will never know; it is not his father, but himself.
One thing I think should be pointed out too, which is not evident at first, is that this edition also includes two letters, one from, and one to, the author's former teacher, who had helped this poor, small wretch of a boy to discover himself, and to gain a proper education, and to go on to become one of the towering figures in world literature in the twentieth century. Both these letters, with thanks and advice, are humbling, and add enormously to what is a blistering and emotive read. Excellent!
Primarily, it must be noted that the book in question, The First Man, was not finished by Camus. Indeed, on reading the prologue by his daughter, Catherine Camus, we find that the manuscript of this incomplete work was found with the author in the car which he died in following an accident. Consequently, on reading the actual text, there are many footnotes to aid the reader, almost on every page, pointing out that a certain character's name has changed, or that Camus had made a mistake which he had not got round to changing before his death, etc.
Secondly, we find that The First Man, although not an autobiography, is, by and large, autobiographical in relation to the content with regards to the author's own life. However, we only reach the stage of Jacques Cormery's life (ie. Camus), where he is near to completing his education at the lycée in Algiers, and consequently we do not have the blistering accounts of how he was to travel to France under German occupation to aid the Resistence, or of when his literary fame came into being.
So, with all this in mind, why have I given this 5 stars- Why read The First Man?
Firstly, this is a touching book, and although sadly much was not written due to the author's untimely death in 1960, he did manage to get a lot down about his birth in a mall village in Algeria under French rule, about his Franco-Spanish ancestry, about the seering heat of the African sun hanging over the sand and sea of the Mediterranean in the 1920's. We feel the pleasures of a poor family, their hopes and fears and dreams, and share funny glimpses of everyday life (like uncle Ernest picking flees off his dog). We see the playground fights, the tensions between the Arabs and Europeans in the streets and desert, and the daily struggle to survive in general. The characters are real, and the scenary too is brought to life, and this book (even unfinished it has 260 pages) is a real page- turner.
This edition also has, at the 'end', a section of Camus' notes, showing how the novel would have developed, and a picture soon emerges, confirming the readers suspicions from the start that, on visiting his dead father's grave (he had been killed in World War One, when Camus was just one), the author is looking for a man he does not know and will never know; it is not his father, but himself.
One thing I think should be pointed out too, which is not evident at first, is that this edition also includes two letters, one from, and one to, the author's former teacher, who had helped this poor, small wretch of a boy to discover himself, and to gain a proper education, and to go on to become one of the towering figures in world literature in the twentieth century. Both these letters, with thanks and advice, are humbling, and add enormously to what is a blistering and emotive read. Excellent!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
'The First Man' was a manuscript left,unrevised by Albert Camus. It is impossible to know what the exact novel would have been- but what we have: sketches, notes, outlines- in this edition is more than enough...Strange, but this book deals with the time spent in youth, the period before we met Meursault in 'The Outsider'...The oddest image is that of a son at the grave of his father, technically older than him- this recalls or predicts texts by Samuel Beckett ('Molloy') & Paul Auster ('Leviathan')...This would be the ideal children's book, if it weren't hard to read- due to its incompleteness...This book is very odd and charming nevertheless; probably best read after an appreciation of Camus's other key works. 'The Outsider', 'The Myth of Sisyphus','The Plague', 'The Rebel' & 'The Fall'. He was one of the most important and talented writers of the 20th century and his words still matter. The publication of this manuscript proves that even more so...
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I could feel the heat and dust, and the blinding sun in my eyes reading this. Camus lets you into his memory of living with his mother as well as creating a novel which must be largely autobiographical. I can still see images in my mind as if I'd seen a movie, not read a page of words. His descriptions are so thorough. I especially like the hunting trip. I thinks this is as good as The Outsider.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Early Years
An engaging and captivating account of growing up in Algeria. I used to think of these places as arid and joyless. No more.
Published 12 days ago by demola
`So, for years, Jacques's existence was divided unequally into two...
In 1960, Albert Camus died in a car accident. The handwritten manuscript of this incomplete autobiographical novel was found in the wreckage. Read more
Published 8 months ago by J. Cameron-Smith
Something of a key to Camus
Anyone who has read Camus' other works will relish reading this. For those who haven't, it's probably best to start with "The Outsider" and "The Plague" before coming to "The First... Read more
Published on 24 April 2010 by Ian Shine
A Fascinating Book. Incomplete But All The More Interesting.
This book is three things: it is an autobiography of a great writer; it is a novel, albeit unfinished, that evokes breathtakingly the atmospheres and social situations of post WWI... Read more
Published on 4 Sep 2009 by Clifford
Thr first book of the Camus
People knows this book as the last book of camus. But I do belive is a same stuff as the first short stories of him (Inside Out) which maybe can find hardly... Read more
Published on 12 Aug 2004 by Reza
A life story of no ordinary pedigree
The book has a curious start but nevertheless a quick-paced one. The story wanders from the touching vagaries of the main character, to the pragmatic sense of scene description... Read more
Published on 11 Dec 2000
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