the fall

i must admit, albert camus' the fall is one of the most impactful books i have ever read. as i read, i was formulating my impression of it, trying to summarise it in a concise, yet elegant manner.

yet, camus beat me to it. just as i thought i had it, he wrote: with all that i construct a portrait which is the image of all and of no one. A mask, in short, rather like those carnival masks which are both life-like and stylised so that they make people say: 'why, surely i have met him!'. when the portrait is finished, as it is this evening, i show it with great sorrow: 'this, alas, is what i am!'. the prosecutor's charge is finished. But at the same time, the portrait i hold out to my contemporaries becomes a mirror.

that, in fact, is the essence of this book. through the monologue of jean-baptiste clemence, camus showed bits of himself and the people around him in clemence. and bits of yourself. and it is painful to read, because at every page, he exposes the flaws of man. the truth always hurts, i suppose.

but i must admit camus was always one step ahead. he had me totally under control. and it all culminated in that portion above.

that is why i think camus is a genius, the fall is a work of genius. unlike sartre, i can say that aloud.