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The Fall Book Review

The Fall is a 1957 philosophical novel by Albert Camus. It is a thematically rich, sophisticated piece of existentialist literature.

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“People hasten to judge in order not to be judged themselves“

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The last full novel written by this famous French existentialist author, The Fall is about the confession of one fallen man to a stranger in a bar. The entire book is set in Amsterdam within the timeframe of just a couple of days, making for a fascinating structure unlike no other. While obviously limited in scope and also imagery, the novel achieved an ambitiously epic scope in the recounting of this man’s entire life and the whole emotional spectrum of this complex human being.

The book has only two characters – Jean-Baptiste Clamence and “you”. The latter may function as the reader himself, but more likely this is a literary character toward whom the protagonist is directing his life story. Speaking of Clamence, he is a fascinating figure, one that is also in some respects quite similar to myself, thus I related to parts of his story, but not all. A hedonistic man who still doesn’t want to be alone, there is an intriguing undercurrent of brewing emotions and conflicting feelings within his being that it made for a truly fascinating exploration.

The Fall is one of the deepest and most thought-provoking books that I’ve ever read and certainly far from a light read. It is only a hundred pages long, but I’ve read it immensely slowly, so that I could gather my thoughts and get it all in properly. Thematically speaking, this is a work of existentialist and absurdist philosophies, but the former is much more pronounced.

There is a lot to talk about here and you can analyze this work literally for countless hours, but I will try to summarize the most important themes and points made. The author has an almost antagonistic attitude toward humanity, which is difficult to judge as he has a great point about how other human beings can be your worst enemies. In particular, he made a great point about humans judging one another and how that feeling of being judged will always be worse than the actual punishment, if one ever arrives.

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As for its point about guilt, I’ve had conflicting opinions of this. On the one hand, in the area of virtue signaling and social justice warriors, it is now even more relevant to make a point about good deeds outweighing good thoughts and how you need to do good out of the inherent need to do it instead of the other way around. That was a fascinating statement that made me think. But on the other hand, the author and the protagonist himself are overly harsh to the fact that most of us will not endanger ourselves in order to save others. Self-preservation is only natural and it is possible to live a life loving yourself while still loving your closest family and friends.

Another great point being made is the one warning about the dangers of extreme hedonism and the pursuit for meaningless things such as alcohol and promiscuity. The protagonist realizing that a meaningful relationship is actually more freeing than confining was a phenomenal message that rings true.

There are some ironic statements being made in the novel that are also unfortunately truthful. One of those is the pure fact that we respect the dead more than the living and the explanation that the protagonist gives is a thought-provoking one – we do it because we have no obligations toward the diseased. Again, the tone can become too self-accusatory and harsh, but it is difficult to argue with most of the points made here.

Camus’ philosophy is a sound one – life is essentially meaningless, but there is a way to go about that is right for all of us. Waiting for a better afterlife is just as bad as committing suicide, thus he is very much critical of religion, but living your life to the fullest and creating your own goals is the right approach. You can make up your own purpose in life and that is crucial.

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The Fall is only a hundred pages long, but it is far from a light read given its rich themes and complex emotions, so it is better read in chunks rather than all at once. Still, it is wholly engaging in spite of a somewhat less interesting epigraph. The pacing is also confident and the tone is complicated and chaotic just like life itself. It needed more descriptions and imagery of those taverns and the city of Amsterdam itself, but those that we got are still intriguingly odd and even otherworldly.

The emotional complexity of the novel is stunning as the protagonist has so many mood changes and realizations that it is not only fascinating, but also touching seeing him grapple with his numerous inner thoughts and conflicts. The dialogue or shall I say monologue is excellent and Camus’ writing is consistently outstanding and elegant, though the protagonist’s speech pattern can be too elaborate and formal at times. This monologuing structure is clearly not for everyone, but for those looking for something different out of their literature, it is an absolute treat.