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."
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