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A Life Worth Living: Albert Camus and the Quest for Meaning
US $13.73
ApproximatelyPHP 765.31
Condition:
Very Good
A book that has been read but is in excellent condition. No obvious damage to the cover, with the dust jacket included for hard covers. No missing or damaged pages, no creases or tears, and no underlining/highlighting of text or writing in the margins. May be very minimal identifying marks on the inside cover. Very minimal wear and tear.
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Located in: Oakland, California, United States
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Item specifics
- Condition
- ISBN
- 9780674724761
About this product
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Harvard University Press
ISBN-10
0674724763
ISBN-13
9780674724761
eBay Product ID (ePID)
166260862
Product Key Features
Book Title
Life Worth Living : Albert Camus and the Quest for Meaning
Number of Pages
240 Pages
Language
English
Publication Year
2013
Topic
European / French, General, Literary
Genre
Literary Criticism, Self-Help, Biography & Autobiography
Format
Hardcover
Dimensions
Item Height
0.8 in
Item Weight
11.4 Oz
Item Length
7.7 in
Item Width
5.2 in
Additional Product Features
Intended Audience
Trade
Reviews
What emerges is the paradoxical portrait of an exceptional everyman: imperfect, plagued by doubt, melancholic, flawed, but also sensitive, hopeful, passionate and heroic'e¦ A Life Worth Living reveals much about Camus, the times he lived in and wrote against'e¦Those looking for a better understanding of the context in which Camus penned his books and essays on murder, torture, suicide, silence and rebellion will find much to ruminate on'e¦ Zaretsky is especially adept at seamlessly weaving Camus'e(tm) own words into the text, and the result is that the reader feels almost as though she is reading Camus as opposed to a biographer'e¦Zaretsky'e(tm)s book is good reading for dark times, a wonderfully written monograph about an absurd hero whose life serves as a reminder that, 'e~while we have no reason to hope, we must also never despair.'e(tm), This is a wonderful introduction to Albert Camus and an overview for those who have already read him. Zaretsky effortlessly explores sometimes difficult concepts in an accessible, even conversational study that blends significant aspects of Camus'e(tm) life'e"his Algerian background, life in France, the importance of the war; the Resistance and the TB that afflicted him for much of his life'e"with his works, in such a way that it offers a strong sense of the writings and the writer'e¦ The result is a concise portrait of an intellectual deeply concerned with ethics, but with an abiding love of the sensual, and life'e(tm)s beauty., Zaretsky delivers a lucid perspective on the intellectual provenance of the writer'e(tm)s moral philosophy through an examination of Notebooks , The Myth of Sisyphus , The Rebel , The Plague , and The Stranger . His scrutiny converges on Camus'e(tm)s sense of the fundamental absurdity of life and why suicide is not an option; his sensitivity to the positive and negative aspects of silence; his understanding of the human condition; and his conviction that rebellious response to injustice be measured, not extreme'e¦An admirable, comprehensible introduction to Camus., Offer[s] concise, eloquent, and learned treatments of the life and work of the French-Algerian moralist'e¦Camus contained multitudes and'e¦ Zaretsky returns to this truth again and again., A marvelously wise, concise, and adventurous exploration of Camus, his intellectual antecedents, the battles that raged around him, and his continuing power to unsettle and inspire us to this day., For a good short study of [Camus'e(tm)s] life, work and philosophy, try Robert Zaretsky 'e(tm)s A Life Worth Living: Albert Camus and the Quest for Meaning ., Zaretsky offers an invigorating blend of history, criticism, and biography in a stirring reassessment of the Nobel Prize'e"winning existentialist writer Albert Camus'e¦ Zaretsky demonstrates Camus'e(tm)s commitment to justice and the joy of existence, evident in his rejection of Soviet communism, as well as his principled opposition to terrorism and capital punishment. Camus emerges as a compassionate thinker who always ruthlessly interrogated his own beliefs and assumptions. Zaretsky'e(tm)s elegant prose and passion for the subject, meanwhile, will inspire both novices in existentialism as well as experts to revisit the contributions of this great French writer., It is extremely limiting to think of Albert Camus as an existentialist philosopher of the absurd. While Camus was never trained as a philosopher, Zaretsky demonstrates that many other themes marked Camus'e(tm)s thought. Camus was a highly principled person, and a strong advocate for justice'e¦Camus'e(tm)s voice still has resonance., Some writers are lucky enough to be remembered 50 years after they die, and a few are even beloved. What is vanishingly rare, however, is for a long-dead writer to remain controversial. Albert Camus is one of those exceptions, a writer who still has the power to ignite political passions, because he managed to incorporate the history of the 20th century so deeply into his writing'e¦Readers new to Camus will find in Zaretsky a deeply informed and warmly admiring guide., Zaretsky offers an invigorating blend of history, criticism, and biography in a stirring reassessment of the Nobel Prize-winning existentialist writer Albert Camus...Zaretsky demonstrates Camus's commitment to justice and the joy of existence, evident in his rejection of Soviet communism, as well as his principled opposition to terrorism and capital punishment. Camus emerges as a compassionate thinker who always ruthlessly interrogated his own beliefs and assumptions. Zaretsky's elegant prose and passion for the subject, meanwhile, will inspire both novices in existentialism as well as experts to revisit the contributions of this great French writer., A Life Worth Living departs from the chronological approach'e¦ Instead, Zaretsky tells [Camus'e(tm)s] story according to the five themes that preoccupied his life and work: absurdity, silence, measure, fidelity, and revolt. The result is a much more human portrait of a man whose life is often reduced to a meditation on the bleakness of absurdism. By chronicling the ideas rather than the events of Camus'e(tm)s life, Zaretsky shows that 'e~Camus was all too human: an obvious point that our desperate need for heroes, especially now, often obscures.'e(tm), More than a half-century after his untimely death in 1960 at age 46, Camus continues to engage us'e¦ Zaretsky provides thorough and rigorous examinations into the author'e(tm)s life and work while also helping us understand the disquiet of a man who gave readers seeking sustenance in art some of the most lyrical and encouraging advice in 20th-century literature.
TitleLeading
A
Dewey Edition
23
Dewey Decimal
194
Synopsis
In his Nobel Prize acceptance speech, Albert Camus declared that a writer's duty is twofold: "the refusal to lie about what one knows and the resistance against oppression." These twin obsessions help explain something of Camus' remarkable character, which is the overarching subject of this sympathetic and lively book. Through an exploration of themes that preoccupied Camus--absurdity, silence, revolt, fidelity, and moderation--Robert Zaretsky portrays a moralist who refused to be fooled by the nobler names we assign to our actions, and who pushed himself, and those about him, to challenge the status quo. Though we do not face the same dangers that threatened Europe when Camus wrote The Myth of Sisyphus and The Stranger , we confront other alarms. Herein lies Camus' abiding significance. Reading his work, we become more thoughtful observers of our own lives. For Camus, rebellion is an eternal human condition, a timeless struggle against injustice that makes life worth living. But rebellion is also bounded by self-imposed constraints--it is a noble if impossible ideal. Such a contradiction suggests that if there is no reason for hope, there is also no occasion for despair--a sentiment perhaps better suited for the ancient tragedians than modern political theorists but one whose wisdom abides. Yet we must not venerate suffering, Camus cautions: the world's beauty demands our attention no less than life's train of injustices. That recognition permits him to declare: "It was the middle of winter, I finally realized that, within me, summer was inextinguishable.", Exploring themes that preoccupied Albert Camus--absurdity, silence, revolt, fidelity, and moderation--Robert Zaretsky portrays a moralist who refused to be fooled by the nobler names we assign to our actions, and who pushed himself, and those about him, to challenge the status quo. For Camus, rebellion against injustice is the human condition.
LC Classification Number
B2430.C354Z37 2013
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Seller feedback (1,194)
- d***e (1064)- Feedback left by buyer.Past monthVerified purchaseGood fast
- p***e (43)- Feedback left by buyer.Past monthVerified purchasePackaging is good, shipping price of 50/50
- c***k (275)- Feedback left by buyer.Past monthVerified purchasepleasant experience, packed well