Reviews for Voltaire

The average rating for Voltaire based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2010-06-17 00:00:00 D G Not a bad collection of essays analyzing The Stranger. Unlike most Marxist intellectual-types, Albert Camus was not a failed bourgeois (like the Messiah himself; Karl Marx), but someone from the actual working class who experienced much pain throughout his life (his death in a car wreck being the crowning moment of his life of tragedy). Camus rejected the Marxism violence promoted by Jean Paul Sartre (the fellow that was influenced by that evil Nazi Martin Heidegger, often considered the greatest philosopher of the last century) and seemed at odds with his fellow "intellectual proletarians." The book essentially does a good job clarifying the real-life/political views of Albert Camus in context with The Stranger. I recommend reading this book for it does fill in a couple holes as to the meaning of certain aspects of the novel.

Review # 2 was written on 2013-11-15 00:00:00 Larry Zearing Obviously well researched, this shed unfiltered light on Camus as well as the political and social landscapes of his time. He appears to have had many more struggles than I ever imagined, but, despite exposing "warts and all", the author still presents a man of integrity who is "true to his contradictions". Damn, I love that phrase. The author is quite conversant with absurdism and existentialism, so the full meanings and implications of Camus' writings were explained.....and will be forgotten. The passage was stupendous: Camus, who was an excellent theologian, repeats that, whereas innocence is a unity, guilt is a form of division which leaves man without any core of character, makes him subservient to others, and forces him to realize that he is an "other" to himself. Learning that Camus could also hold a grudge? Priceless!