The Myth of Sisyphus: And Other Essays (Vintage International)

An interesting essay comparing the punishment of Sisyphus with the mundane, "absurd", and monotonous existence that most of us lead. He relates this the problem of suicide. Everyone knows what it is like to walk down the street and think: Where do I fit into the grand scheme of things? Camus says these are our moments of clarity and awareness, and we can either despair or hope in...more

An interesting essay comparing the punishment of Sisyphus with the mundane, "absurd", and monotonous existence that most of us lead. He relates this the problem of suicide. Everyone knows what it is like to walk down the street and think: Where do I fit into the grand scheme of things? Camus says these are our moments of clarity and awareness, and we can either despair or hope in spite of everything. While I do not personally agree with some of the arguments Camus makes here, it is a thought-provoking essay. The additional essays are interesting as well.   hide

Its hard not to approve of a book which tackles the difficult issues of suicide & death in its opening passages, all of which are accomplished with great sensitivity & understanding.

Albert Camus finds the perfect metaphor for the existential vision of life in THE MYTH OF SISYPHUS. But his conclusion that in the face of such a difficult and ultimately futile task as pushing a large rock up a hill forever, the existential reader must laugh, is contradictory. But I did laugh when Homer found himself naked and chained to a giant rock he must push up a hill forever in THE...more

Albert Camus finds the perfect metaphor for the existential vision of life in THE MYTH OF SISYPHUS. But his conclusion that in the face of such a difficult and ultimately futile task as pushing a large rock up a hill forever, the existential reader must laugh, is contradictory. But I did laugh when Homer found himself naked and chained to a giant rock he must push up a hill forever in THE SIMPSONS. I guess it's funnier when it's a cartoon and he's naked.   hide

Camus' essay on the absurd state is a well-developed, deeply interesting foray into art, literature, philosophy, and well, life. His examination is an interested and impassioned presentation of man's response to the lucid realization of his previously irrational state - one surely worth numerous reads.