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Albert Camus
Albert Camus was a multi-faceted genius. This
Algeria born, French writer was also a journalist, playwright
and philosopher and is best known for his philosophy of
Absurdism. He was opposed to rationalists and though alienated
himself from other existentialists, was arguably the most prominent
existentialist of the 20th Century. Camus pondered over the
meaning of life in the face of death and his book The Myth of
Sisyphus was an attempt to resolve the issue of life and death.
Camus was born in Mondovi, Algeria on November 7, 1913 and within an
year of his birth, his father died in the battlefield in Europe
fighting the First Battle of Marne. While in school, Camus's
extraordinary qualities were noticed by his teacher who encouraged him
for studies. By the time Camus received his baccalauréat in 1930, he
was reading the likes of Gide, Montherlant and Malraux. While
continuing his college education, Camus had a bout of Tuberculosis and
after recovering from the disease, he pursued his studies in the
University of Algiers. Simultaneously, he was supporting himself
through odd jobs such as selling car spare parts and giving private
tutions.
After earning a degree in Philosophy, Camus migrated to France where
he served as sub-editor, social and political reporter, leader-writer,
and book-reviewer of left-wing newspaper Alger-Républicain. During the
Second World War, he took up the editorship of an underground
newspaper Combat and supported French Resistance groups. After
the War ,he fully devoted himself to writing and produced The Stranger
(1946), The Plague (1948), The Rebel (1954) and The Myth of Sisyphus
(1955).
On January 4, 1960, Camus was killed in a car
accident while returning to Paris with his friend and publisher Michel
Gallimard. He was only forty-six years old and had written as recently
as 1958, "I continue to be convinced that my work hasn't even been
begun." Adding to the tragedy was the fact that Camus disliked cars
and had intended to return to Paris by train until Gallimard convinced
him to change his mind. The return half of a rail ticket was found
unused in his pocket.
He received the 1957 Nobel Prize for
Literature.
Order Albert Camus's Books below
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