Albert Camus (1913–1960)
Author of The Stranger
About the Author
Born in 1913 in Algeria, Albert Camus was a French novelist, dramatist, and essayist. He was deeply affected by the plight of the French during the Nazi occupation of World War II, who were subject to the military's arbitrary whims. He explored the existential human condition in such works as show more L'Etranger (The Outsider, 1942) and Le Mythe de Sisyphe (The Myth of Sisyphus, 1942), which propagated the philosophical notion of the "absurd" that was being given dramatic expression by other Theatre of the Absurd dramatists of the 1950s and 1960s. Camus also wrote a number of plays, including Caligula (1944). Much of his work was translated into English. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957. Camus died in an automobile accident in 1960. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Disambiguation Notice:
Do not combine this page with the author page for A. Camus or for Camus as there are other authors with the same surname, and surname and initial.
Series
Works by Albert Camus
Christian Metaphysics and Neoplatonism (Eric Voegelin Institute Series in Political Philosophy: Studies in Religion and… (1936) 31 copies
Obras/ Works: El Reves Y El Derecho. Nupcias. El Extranjero. El Mito De Sisifo. Caligula. Carnets, 1 (Spanish Edition) (1996) 14 copies
Travels in the Americas: Notes and Impressions of a New World (The France Chicago Collection) (2023) 8 copies
Obras/ Works: El Malentendido. Los Justos. El Estado De Sitio. La Peste. Carta a Un Amigo Aleman. Cronicas 1944-1948… (1996) 5 copies
Minotaurus 5 copies
L'Étranger, La Peste, La Chute 4 copies
Obras/ Works: El Hombre Rebelde. Cronicas 1948-1953. Reflexiones Sobre La Guillotina. El Verano (1996) 4 copies
Ribellione e morte: saggi politici 4 copies
The Stranger Novel by Albert Camus 4 copies
Le opere: Lo straniero, La peste, La caduta, da: L'esilio e il regno, Il rovescio e il diritto, Nozze, Il mito di… (1965) 4 copies
Albert Camus éditorialiste à "L'Express" (Mai 1955 - Février 1956) (Cahiers Albert Camus) (French Edition) (1987) — Author — 4 copies
Le voci del quartiere povero 4 copies
Camus Albert 3 copies
La caduta e Discorsi di Svezia — Author — 3 copies
Esortazione ai medici della peste 3 copies
rebelion en asturias — Author — 3 copies
PREFACE 2 copies
Œuvres complètes (1931-1934) 2 copies
L ETRANGER Gallimard NRF 1946 2 copies
Schreib ohne Furcht und viel: Eine Liebesgeschichte in Briefen 1944-1959 (German Edition) (2021) 2 copies
SürgCün ve Krallık 2 copies
Pages choisies 2 copies
Novele 2 copies
I HUAJI 2 copies
Essays by Albert Camus: The Myth of Sisyphus, the Rebel, Reflections on the Guillotine (2010) 2 copies
Great Ideas the Fastidious Assassins (Penguin Great Ideas) by Camus Albert (2008-09-23) Mass Market Paperback (1600) 2 copies
La Crise de l’homme (The Human Crisis), Lecture delivered at Columbia University 3/28/1946 — Author — 2 copies
Patan 2 copies
PAGES MEDITERRANEENNES 1 copy
El primer hombre 1994 1 copy
Njeriu i parë 1 copy
Sürgün 1 copy
Létranger 1 copy
Núpcias, O Verão 1 copy
西西弗神话 1 copy
?? 1 copy
Rf̌lexions sur la guillotine 1 copy
Calepins de Bibliographie 1 copy
Rënia 1 copy
Një vdekje e lumtur 1 copy
Murtaja 1 copy
La plaga 1 copy
NOBEL PRIZE LIBRARY 1 copy
Opgør : Essays 1 copy
HLa Icaduta 1 copy
FRÄMLINGEN 1 copy
Rencontre avec Camus. 1 copy
Caligula d'Albert Camus (Fiche de lecture): Analyse complète de l'oeuvre (French Edition) (2014) 1 copy
Le opere 1 copy
L'�tat de si�ge 1 copy
L´intelligenza e il Patibolo 1 copy
Breve til en tysk ven 1 copy
Str♯inul: Ciuma 1 copy
«Caro Professor Germain» 1 copy
E PRAPMJA DHE E PERPARMJA 1 copy
NIRVAASAN AUR AADHIPATYA 1 copy
Obra selecta 1 copy
O Estrangeiro - Saraiva 1 copy
Framsidan och frånsidan 1 copy
NJERIU I PARE 1 copy
NJE KENAQESI E VETMUAR 1 copy
כלולות הקיץ 1 copy
האדם המורד 1 copy
THE OUTSIDER: AGANTUK 1 copy
Избранное 1 copy
MBRETERIA DHE MERGIMI 1 copy
RENIA 1 copy
Obras Completas Tomo I 1 copy
Desde la biblioteca: Camus 1 copy
Obras Completas Tomo II 1 copy
2: Chroniques 1948-1953 1 copy
L'�etranger; roman 1 copy
El malentedido Calígula 1 copy
TE DREJTET 1 copy
GOJEKYCURI RENEGATI 1 copy
TERSİ VE YÜZÜ 1 copy
VERA NE ALGJER 1 copy
Stranac 1 copy
L'estiu 1 copy
The Plague r 1 copy
The Stranger r 1 copy
පිටස්තරයා 1 copy
Rare Albert Camus / Notebooks 1935-1942 1965 - NY: Modern Library, 1965 [Hardcover] Camus, Albert 1 copy
Escrits llibertaris 1 copy
Thần Thoại Sisyphus 1 copy
SANATÇI VE ÇAĞI 1 copy
The Quotable Camus 1 copy
Remarque sur la révolte 1 copy
Les Silences de Paris 1 copy
The Trial — Author — 1 copy
Rub a lice 1 copy
Užrašų knygelės I 1 copy
Misère de la Kabylie 1 copy
Proti neredu sveta 1 copy
Oeuvres complètes 1 copy
The Silent Men — Author — 1 copy
Közöny. A bukás / Albert Camus ; [ford. Gyergyai Albert, Szávai Nándor] ; [a jegyzeteket írta Pap Éva] (2003) 1 copy
Ihójin (異邦人) 1 copy
The Renegade or a Confused Spirit — Author — 1 copy
Odabrana djela 1 copy
Vous Parle 1 copy
Collected plays 1 copy
Balises 1 copy
Cahiers Albert Camus 1 copy
Denemeler 1 copy
Esė rinktinė. D. 2 1 copy
The Funeral 1 copy
Helen's Exile {essay} 1 copy
Primeiros cadernos 1 copy
Dżuma Tom 1 1 copy
Dżuma Tom 2 1 copy
Saggi letterari 1 copy
The Thibaults 1 copy
Nirvasan aur Aadhipatya 1 copy
Lhomme révolté 1 copy
1: Chroniques 1944-1948 1 copy
2: Chroniques 1948-1953 1 copy
[1]: Mai 1935-fevrier 1942 1 copy
Noces. Suivi de l'Été 1 copy
Δημιουργία και ελευθερία 1 copy
Ο μύθος του Σίσυφου 1 copy
Ούτε δήμιοι, ούτε θύματα 1 copy
Η παρεξήγηση 1 copy
Notebooks 1 copy
Os Possessos 1 copy
سقوط 1 copy
سوء التفاهم 1 copy
أسطورة سيزيف 1 copy
Fiche de lecture L'Étranger de Albert Camus (analyse littéraire de référence et résumé complet) (2014) 1 copy
Le Mythe de Sisyphe de Albert Camus (fiche de lecture et analyse complète de l'oeuvre) (French Edition) (2019) 1 copy
Fiche de lecture La Peste de Camus (Analyse littéraire de référence et résumé complet) (French Edition) (2018) 1 copy
The outsider ; translated from the French by Stuart Gilbert with an introduction by Cyril Connolly (1946) 1 copy
Mit o Sizifu — Author — 1 copy
Miti i sifizit 1 copy
Teatro di Albert Camus 1 copy
Obcy / Dżuma / Upadek 1 copy
Vrang og ret 1 copy
Kadar a eu son jour de peur 1 copy
Chroniques: 1944-1948 1 copy
السقطة 1 copy
NÚPCIAS , O VERÃO 1 copy
1999 1 copy
Düğün ve Yaz 1 copy
Twice A Year, No. XIV-XV 1 copy
NJERIU I REVOLTUAR 1 copy
Associated Works
The Assassin's Cloak: An Anthology of the World's Greatest Diarists (2000) — Contributor, some editions — 544 copies
The Graphic Canon, Vol. 3: From Heart of Darkness to Hemingway to Infinite Jest (2013) — Contributor — 146 copies
The world of law; a treasury of great writing about and in the law, short stories, plays, essays, accounts, letters,… (1960) — Contributor — 53 copies
La chute de Camus Profil littérature d'une Oeuvre n°1 par Pierre-Louis Rey (1973) — Contributor — 12 copies
The Stranger [1967 film] — Original book — 3 copies
Die Sammlung der Nationalgalerie : 1945-1968 : Der geteilte Himmel : die Dokumentation einer Ausstellung (2014) — Contributor — 2 copies
L'homme revolte [de] Camus: Analyse critique (Profil d'une oeuvre ; 56) (French Edition) (1977) — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Camus, Albert
- Birthdate
- 1913-11-07
- Date of death
- 1960-01-04
- Burial location
- Lourmarin Cemetery, Lourmarin, Vaucluse, France
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- Algeria
- Birthplace
- Mondovi, Algeria
- Place of death
- Villeblevin, Yonne, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France
- Cause of death
- car crash
- Places of residence
- Algiers, Algeria
Paris, Île-de-France, France
Mondovi, Algeria (birth) - Education
- University of Algiers (BA, 1935)
University of Algiers (MA, 1936) - Occupations
- novelist
essayist
playwright
journalist - Relationships
- Casares, Maria (partner)
Feraoun, Mouloud (friend) - Organizations
- French Communist Party
Algerian People's Party
Combat
French Resistance - Awards and honors
- Nobel Prize (Literature, 1957)
- Short biography
- Albert Camus was born to French-Spanish parents in Mondovi, a small village in northeastern Algeria, then a French colony. In 1933, he enrolled at the University of Algiers.. He became a theater professional and journalist, joining the staff of the Alger-Républicain in 1938. He was in Paris working for Paris-Soir magazine at the outbreak of World War II, and joined the French Resistance. After the war, he left political journalism and focused on essays, fiction, and his work as a theater producer and playwright. Camus died in an auto accident in 1960 at age 46.
- Disambiguation notice
- Do not combine this page with the author page for A. Camus or for Camus as there are other authors with the same surname, and surname and initial.
Members
Discussions
Camus - His Non-Fiction - discussion in Literary Centennials (May 2018)
possibly Dystopian about Death in Name that Book (October 2015)
Camus - The Fall - discussion in Literary Centennials (January 2014)
Albert Camus - Resources and General Discussion in Literary Centennials (December 2013)
Camus - The Plague - discussion in Literary Centennials (August 2013)
Camus - The Stranger (aka Outsider) - discussion in Literary Centennials (March 2013)
Camus - A Happy Death - discussion in Literary Centennials (January 2013)
***GroupRead: The Plague (Spoiler Free) in 75 Books Challenge for 2010 (April 2010)
Reviews
(Read in French)
When you have a tendency towards art and thought that is difficult, abstract, contradictory, it can be edifying to come back to Camus, a man whose works, to my eye, have always emanated a kind of confidence. Even as he considers a life drained of meaning ( L'Étranger) or the capricious fate that decides who lives and who dies ( La Peste) you feel as if this is a person who decided early on how he was going to live his life and did so. The difficulty (maybe impossibility) of truly finding your way is built right into his worldview. Despite modern day political conservatives crowing about the influence of marxists and postmodernists on the left, I think Camus is one of the true well-springs of contemporary leftist thought, both for good and bad. His ideas are always practical, psychological; one must first come to terms with the meaning of their individual existence before anything else - given how one can spend a lifetime "finding meaning", this precept can often lead to a kind of political and social paralysis. It's a navel-gazing philosophy - there isn't necessarily anything wrong with that, but I sometimes find Camus lacking in specificity.
In this essay, Camus is as specific as I've ever seen him. You can tell that this was written with the intention of being read immediately, the audience being his contemporaries in the mid-century western world. He lays out a lot of compelling arguments about why capital punishment is a logically flawed practice, saying from the outset that he wants to avoid any emotional argument in favor of reasoned criticism. I found a lot of the ideas he set down to be novel, and even the classic arguments against capital punishment are worth absorbing again for the salience with which he writes. Most surprising to me is the final part of the book, where Camus's train of thought takes an anarchist, dare I say even libertarian bent - living through an era where the vast majority of excess death had been caused by State violence, Camus criticizes secular adherents of the death penalty as participating in the deification of the State, assuming that political bodies could replace God, and as such gain the right to mete out decisions on who lives and who dies. The capital punishment abolitionist, therefore, takes up the mantle of protecting the populace from the excesses of the political state, and also does their part in conserving what Camus terms as the only shared culture across the whole human race - that of opposition to dying.
Camus does briefly touch on the societal factors that play into who gets sentenced to death, but doesn't go deeply into how economic and social divisions play into the judicial system. He's going for a broad based attack on capital punishment, and so (perhaps wisely) avoids specifics. I do wish we got a little more bite out of his criticism of the sociopolitical systems that support such a practice - another thing that allies Camus to the feckless modern liberal is his unwillingness to cross over into true criticism of the economic and political hegemony, much less to to suggest any kind of action be taken. This is perhaps due to the vast amounts of violence he witnessed in his life in the name of ideas. I think that the most important underpinning idea in this essay (as Camus bases his abolitionism upon a series of ideas, rather than than one grand "anti-death penalty stance") is the the first that he discusses: if every execution is meant as a example to all deviants and ne'er-do-wells, why are modern executions carried out in the depths of prisons closed to the public? If the supporters of execution truly believed this, criminals would still be decapitated in public squares, or strung up on a rope for all to see. Camus rightly points out that supporters of execution know that if executions were done in public, there would be far fewer people in favor of them. In this way, we run up against one of the greatest contradiction in the Western, post-industrial lifestyle - so much of what we count on as the basis of our comfortable lives is hidden away from public view. If you ask someone if they oppose the sordid conditions of farm animals, or the terrible conditions of overseas workers, the abuses of police in impoverished areas, or wars waged for profit, you will often get a shrug in response; most people don't think these things concern them because they have never actually seen them. It seems to me that this central hypocrisy is the root cause for the general malaise and anxiety now flooding the western world. We know evil things are being done in the name of our comfort, we may even see videos or pictures on social media. We may even post in support of various social causes and far-flung revolutions, giving the illusion of having done something. But these calamities will, most likely, never affect our lives and the average citizen of the developed world will almost certainly never do anything about them.… (more)
When you have a tendency towards art and thought that is difficult, abstract, contradictory, it can be edifying to come back to Camus, a man whose works, to my eye, have always emanated a kind of confidence. Even as he considers a life drained of meaning ( L'Étranger) or the capricious fate that decides who lives and who dies ( La Peste) you feel as if this is a person who decided early on how he was going to live his life and did so. The difficulty (maybe impossibility) of truly finding your way is built right into his worldview. Despite modern day political conservatives crowing about the influence of marxists and postmodernists on the left, I think Camus is one of the true well-springs of contemporary leftist thought, both for good and bad. His ideas are always practical, psychological; one must first come to terms with the meaning of their individual existence before anything else - given how one can spend a lifetime "finding meaning", this precept can often lead to a kind of political and social paralysis. It's a navel-gazing philosophy - there isn't necessarily anything wrong with that, but I sometimes find Camus lacking in specificity.
In this essay, Camus is as specific as I've ever seen him. You can tell that this was written with the intention of being read immediately, the audience being his contemporaries in the mid-century western world. He lays out a lot of compelling arguments about why capital punishment is a logically flawed practice, saying from the outset that he wants to avoid any emotional argument in favor of reasoned criticism. I found a lot of the ideas he set down to be novel, and even the classic arguments against capital punishment are worth absorbing again for the salience with which he writes. Most surprising to me is the final part of the book, where Camus's train of thought takes an anarchist, dare I say even libertarian bent - living through an era where the vast majority of excess death had been caused by State violence, Camus criticizes secular adherents of the death penalty as participating in the deification of the State, assuming that political bodies could replace God, and as such gain the right to mete out decisions on who lives and who dies. The capital punishment abolitionist, therefore, takes up the mantle of protecting the populace from the excesses of the political state, and also does their part in conserving what Camus terms as the only shared culture across the whole human race - that of opposition to dying.
Camus does briefly touch on the societal factors that play into who gets sentenced to death, but doesn't go deeply into how economic and social divisions play into the judicial system. He's going for a broad based attack on capital punishment, and so (perhaps wisely) avoids specifics. I do wish we got a little more bite out of his criticism of the sociopolitical systems that support such a practice - another thing that allies Camus to the feckless modern liberal is his unwillingness to cross over into true criticism of the economic and political hegemony, much less to to suggest any kind of action be taken. This is perhaps due to the vast amounts of violence he witnessed in his life in the name of ideas. I think that the most important underpinning idea in this essay (as Camus bases his abolitionism upon a series of ideas, rather than than one grand "anti-death penalty stance") is the the first that he discusses: if every execution is meant as a example to all deviants and ne'er-do-wells, why are modern executions carried out in the depths of prisons closed to the public? If the supporters of execution truly believed this, criminals would still be decapitated in public squares, or strung up on a rope for all to see. Camus rightly points out that supporters of execution know that if executions were done in public, there would be far fewer people in favor of them. In this way, we run up against one of the greatest contradiction in the Western, post-industrial lifestyle - so much of what we count on as the basis of our comfortable lives is hidden away from public view. If you ask someone if they oppose the sordid conditions of farm animals, or the terrible conditions of overseas workers, the abuses of police in impoverished areas, or wars waged for profit, you will often get a shrug in response; most people don't think these things concern them because they have never actually seen them. It seems to me that this central hypocrisy is the root cause for the general malaise and anxiety now flooding the western world. We know evil things are being done in the name of our comfort, we may even see videos or pictures on social media. We may even post in support of various social causes and far-flung revolutions, giving the illusion of having done something. But these calamities will, most likely, never affect our lives and the average citizen of the developed world will almost certainly never do anything about them.… (more)
This one was struggle to read, after the first memorable and often-quoted sentence - I think I heard the rustle of some useful ideas lurking in this thicket of impenetrable prose.
"It comes to this," Tarrou said almost casually; "what interests me is learning how to become a saint."
"But you don’t believe in God!"
"Exactly! Can one be a saint without God?—that’s the problem, in fact the only problem, I’m up against today."
The Plague is one of those essential books that I didn't read when I was younger and is part of a literary bucket-list. It's also one of those books that I puzzled over as I read it. I didn't find the book depressing at all - In fact, I found it quite hopeful and bucolic. I took away love, friendship, civic duty and hope. As I read the reviews of others, I realized that other people saw despair, hopelessness and crisis. I'm still confused by it.
Camus was an atheist and an absurdist. Since I am also both of these things, I have to believe that I read it correctly.
… (more)
"But you don’t believe in God!"
"Exactly! Can one be a saint without God?—that’s the problem, in fact the only problem, I’m up against today."
The Plague is one of those essential books that I didn't read when I was younger and is part of a literary bucket-list. It's also one of those books that I puzzled over as I read it. I didn't find the book depressing at all - In fact, I found it quite hopeful and bucolic. I took away love, friendship, civic duty and hope. As I read the reviews of others, I realized that other people saw despair, hopelessness and crisis. I'm still confused by it.
Camus was an atheist and an absurdist. Since I am also both of these things, I have to believe that I read it correctly.
… (more)
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- Also by
- 44
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This time, read it again in French right on the heels of L’Etranger
A fine work with lots of insight into the human condition during times of ever present mortal danger, of course so *relevant* at a time like this, one of global pandemic and widespread death, although the mortality of the plague in question is much higher than current figures for COVID-19
I’m assuming that this book, centered on the stoic Dr Rieux is sort of l’inverse of L’Etranger. Whereas Mersault lives a life devoid of intention, alienated from even his own desires, Rieux chooses a life of activism. Camus is careful to differentiate this activism from one based on religion or ideology - it seems we are to understand Rieux as someone (like Mersault) carried along on a certain kind of current. What makes the good doctor different from the hapless narrator of L’Etranger is that his boat has a rudder.
Regardless of the fact that I’d much rather hang out with Bernard Rieux than Meursault, I think L’Etranger is the better book. What makes the story of Meursault so disturbing is that some variation of his story happens to so many people all over the world everyday- in fact, if you don’t take action to steer your life, it’s likely to happen. Despite Rieux saying to Tarrou in an eminently quotable line that he doesn’t strive to be a saint but rather a man, this book sometimes verges on a kind of existential hagiography. I guess we are supposed to see the doctor as a kind of exemplar for the rational man striving against absurdity and death, and he certainly plays this role well. But I think this is where the book shows it’s age. Camus was writing on the heels of Allied victory in WW2 and French liberation from fascist domination. The afterglow definitely seeps into La Peste, and it’s a far more optimistic book than L’Etranger. I can’t help but feel like this book’s vision of human nature has soured a bit in the intervening 70 years, not to mention that for a book based upon valorizing humanism, it barely touches on the colonial situation in French Algeria, and reduces every female character to a kind of cardboard cut out. Camus would probably be scandalized by the fact that the experience of Meursault is more relatable than that of Dr. Rieux to a modern reader. But it feels to me that the world is being overwhelmed by multiple plagues, both physiological and ideological, and there are not enough Dr. Rieuxs to turn the tide.… (more)