Product Description In his first novel, A Happy Death, written when he was in his early twenties and retrieved from his private papers following his death in I960, Albert Camus laid the foundation for The Stranger, focusing in both works on an Algerian clerk who kills a man in cold blood. But he also revealed himself to an extent that he never would in his later fiction. For if A Happy Death is the study of a rule-bound being shattering the fetters of his existence, it is also a remarkably candid portrait of its author as a young man.
As the novel follows the protagonist, Patrice Mersault, to his victim's house -- and then, fleeing, in a journey that takes him through stages of exile, hedonism, privation, and death -it gives us a glimpse into the imagination of one of the great writers of the twentieth century. For here is the young Camus himself, in love with the sea and sun, enraptured by women yet disdainful of romantic love, and already formulating the philosophy of action and moral responsibility that would make him central to the thought of our time.
Camus In MetamorphosisOctober 21, 2003 Jon Linden(Warren, N.J. United States) 13 out of 14 found this review helpful
Camus' book "A Happy Death" was never published in his lifetime. Camus was very specific and deliberate as to when he would publish what. This novel, the first written by Camus, has been published after being reclaimed from his papers.
The question that comes to mind then, is "Why did Camus never publish this work?" It seems that the book was a transitional writing for Camus. It allowed him to move forward from the life he had always thought about, to the life he believed he lived in, that being an "existential" existence.
In reading the book, one finds that Mersault, the protagonist, seems to have too many moments of happiness as compared to other protagonists in Camus' other publications. This in fact, is probably an autobiographical reflection of Camus' early life, and the book, a work to allow him to metamorphosize, transform his vision into what came next, "The Stranger."
The beauty of the novel is recognizing this transition and then, with such recognition, comes the ability to apply those thought patterns and feelings to Camus' later works, seeing how he transformed from a "regular" human being, to an "existentialist" one who has the feeling of being unique, and apart from others and the world around him.
The book gives valuable insight into Camus' mental process as he moves from where he was, to where he will go. For Camus readers, the book is truly a MUST. And for anyone with an interest in the "Existential" genre, it is truly an enlightening piece of literature.
Extraordinary! It changed my life!!!!!November 7, 1997 10 out of 11 found this review helpful
I am a sophmore in high school at the moment and I read this book when I was in eighth grade. At that time I was very depresed and unhappy. I don't mean I was on the verge of suicide but I was just very gloomy. Then my english teacher told us we had to read a novel of our choosing and keep a journal on it. For some reason I choose this book. I had only read one of Camus's short stories: THE GUEST and that did not prepare me for the beauty of A HAPPY DEATH. I had never read anything of such raw unmitigated emotion! Camus tossed feelings around like jugglers do balls! When I had finished I felt at peace with myself for the first time in a year and a half. I urge everyone to read this book. Granted, there are structural problems but who cares! All that is left to say is: Thank you Albert! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
beautiful translationJuly 4, 2006 Mark Twain 5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I am a Camus fan. I've read everything of his, starting with The Stranger and ending with A Happy Death. I must say that A Happy Death is my favorite. I (re-)read it several times a year.
A Happy Death is the most beautifully written, in my opinion. Content aside, the language (albeit in translation) is gorgeous and incredibly evocative. I can't get over it.
Content-wise, I felt that A Happy Death was much more human, we got to know Mersault much better. In The Stranger he is so cold, deliberately almost one-dimensional and I felt it was lovely to get to know a different side of him in A Happy Death. The language and descriptions are lush and vivid, the character has a lot more depth, and above all else, when I read it, I can clearly see why Camus vehemently denied being called an "existentialist". Some of the "existentialist" ideas certainly are present, but there seems to be such a different aesthetic.
Purpose Imposes MeaningAugust 26, 2006 Martin Asiner(jersey city, nj United States) 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Those who come to A HAPPY DEATH after THE STRANGER tend to note the similarities in plot and theme that relegate they believe the former to the latter as a juvenile attempt--not bad maybe, but not the real thing either. Such a judgment is overhasty. The Mersault of A HAPPY DEATH may or may not be the Mersault of THE STRANGER. Both live in Algiers and both wander aimlesslessly in life, seeking a philosophical underpinning. Both kill a man, and both suffer for it. But such a facile comparison omits a great deal that suggests when Camus took up the pen again a decade later, he has more in mind than a handy earlier book from which he could self-[...].
The Mersault of A HAPPY DEATH has a first name, Patrice, who is poor and seeks a way to battle a losing effort with time that his poverty proves a hindrance. He finds a rich cripple and kills him, and steals his money, which he uses to work out the details, however bizarre, of a philosophy that involve his finding happiness. The other Mersault seeks happiness too, but with him he already is "happy" in the sense that he knows his place in the universe, which he sees as a disordered self-contained field of entropy from which he concludes that nothing makes sense and everything is meaningless. This Mersault does not need to steal money to reach a higher state. Patrice Mersault seeks to elevate himself to reach a higher state that he feels money is the key and murder is the means. His later counterpart would find it amusing that his namesake would bother to look outside himself for anything. Patrice, could he but jump into HIS counterpart's book, would feel, not amusement, but rage at someone who has no purpose in life except to keep doing what he is doing. Both Mersaults share some surface traits, but in the final analysis, they are no more than two distinct individuals who share a name and a few piddling details of their surface lives. And perhaps this is what caused Camus to take up the pen with his twin Mersaults: to show his readers that the universe cannot mean more than what you put into it or what you don't.
A brilliant treatise on happiness and deathNovember 27, 1998 3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Camus, the master wordsmith, stunningly leads us on one man's inescapable journey towards death. Along the way he realises how inconsequntial material things are in the battle between life and death. Highlights: Beautiful accounts of the hero's last vestigages of strength being drained from his body while swimming in the North African Mediterranean; the startling description of a man in the throes of death. Read it!
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