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Title: The Wall: And Other Stories by Jean Paul Sartre, Lloyd Alexander ISBN: 0-8112-0190-2 Publisher: New Directions Publishing Pub. Date: February, 1988 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.33 (6 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Another Fine Place to Begin
Comment: Along with No Exit (and three other plays), this is a wonderful place to begin one's journey into Existentialism. J. P. Sartre presents the reader with a nice array of stories that encapsulate many of the juiciest of Existentialist themes. I suggest that one concentrate on the feelings of the characters when reading each story - and read it slowly and carefully: philosophers like Sartre deserve the time. I suggest Jeff Reynolds' fine review for the themes of each story. I also want to give praise to Lloyd Alexander (Translator) for his brilliant, readable translations. I have noticed other French-to-English translators who struggle terribly to construct English statements with substance. Alexander captures Sartre's thought with awesome force and detail.
Rating: 5
Summary: A Mesmorizing Journey. Extreme Psychological Insight
Comment: "The Wall and other short stories" is a triumph in literature. Each story explores the depths of human thought and reason through an existential point of view. Each story can be interpreted different by all readers, therefore making this a great book for discussion.
"The Wall" is the first story presented. It consumes the reader because of its brilliant writing style. The story is narrated by a man named Pablo Ibbieta, who is in a jail cell with 2 others awaiting execution the following morning. Every event that transpires that particular night is analyzed almost too thoroughly thus leaving the reader in a trance. I wont get into it too deeply, but believe me, this story is worth reading...i guarentee it will have to be read again. After finishing the story, I felt as though nothing mattered. Who cares if the dishes were not washed, who cares if I would be late for work. Believe me, this story will have a profound impact on the way you think. Don't be surprised if you have a new appreciation for life. This story enlightens the mind.
Another great story from this book is called "Erostratus". Erostratus was a character who wanted to be famous, so he burned down the temple of Ephesus, which was one of the 7 wonders of the world. This is the central symbol of the story, the quest for glory. It also brings up an interesting point when the narrator asks one of his colleagues "Who built Ephesus?" and the colleauge did not know, he only knew who burned it. "Erostratus" in short is one mans decent into madness because of his quest to be remembered. The ending of "Erostratus" is filled with suspense and makes your heart beat in fear. It serves as a grim reminder that there are people of this type, and we should be prepared at any time for them to strike.
There are also 3 other stories, that being "The Room", "Intimacy", and "The Childhood of a Leader", which also draw the reader inside the workings of the mind through an existential window (ie: we are all here by accident, man is condemned to choose).
In short, these stories are all perfect, and leave the reader with a feeling of enlightment. Sartre is an extremely intelligent and clever writer. This is evident in these short stories. So turn off the television, buy this book, and start questioning your existence, you owe it to yourself. Besides, they are short stories, so you will be able to get through at least one a day...that isnt much to ask considering the benefits you will reap by reading them.
Rating: 5
Summary: LITERARY BLUEPRINT FOR CREATING 'TRUTH' FROM MEANINGLESSNESS
Comment: 'The Wall' rises up as a catalogue of man's solitary and free application of the existentialist's understanding. Sartre leaves no dark corner unlit in what could be considered his most biting renderings of the human condition's anguish in the face of meaninglessness.
'The Wall' itself is an astoundingly suspenseful glimpse at the fine line between life and death, the insanity in ultimate human will-power, and the psychological effects of foreknowing one's own time of death.
'The Room' is stark and vague. Interpretations abound, all from absurd (in itself) to Sartre's most profound writing. Nevertheless, the story's 'insanity' brings about many insights into the world of the individual of nothingness.
'Erostratus' follows quite well, asking whether it is moral, immoral, right, or wrong, to kill and whether a modern man is truly free to commit conscious evil. Furthermore, it questions our modern society's knack for making celebrities of villains.
'Intimacy' is a wonderful story with heavy-handed, deadbolt dialogue, well-crafted absurd heroes, and philosophical wit, wound up in a woman's tale of love, adultery, loyalty, friendship, impotence, and existence.
Finally, 'The Childhood of a Leader' reveals the facist's facade of strength, the soft scar-tissue of their idealistic youth, the true childishness of their anti-semite reactions, and the way in which men allow themselves to follow or hunger to be followed.
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Title: Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre, Lloyd Alexander, H. Carruth ISBN: 0811201880 Publisher: New Directions Publishing Pub. Date: January, 1975 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
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Title: The Fall by ALBERT CAMUS ISBN: 0679720227 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 07 May, 1991 List Price(USD): $10.00 |
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Title: No Exit and Three Other Plays by Jean-Paul Sartre ISBN: 0679725164 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 23 October, 1989 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: The Plague by Albert Camus ISBN: 0679720219 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 07 May, 1991 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: The Stranger by ALBERT CAMUS ISBN: 0679720200 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 13 March, 1989 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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