The Age of Reason - Jean-Paul Sartre

Advantages: A Work Of Genius
Disadvantages: Extremely Disturbing...

...to one of that century's most compelling philosophical movements. The Outsider, first published in France as 'L'Étranger in 1942, is commonly regarded as the greatest example of the Existentialist novel, outshining even Sartre's La Nausée. This in itself is an extraordinary feat, for, whilst Jean-Paul Sartre was generally regarded as the founding father of Twentieth Century Existentialism, and held an almost unassailable sway over France's academic elite for several decades, Albert Camus first emerged as a relatively obscure journalist and playwright, who had grown up in poverty in Algiers. Sartrean Existentialism is a finely wrought thing, the agonising complexities of which were outlined in his heaviest, most earnest tome, Being & Nothingness. In 1945, he described the Existential project as 'the attempt to draw all the consequences... Read review

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Advantages: a thought-provoking read
Disadvantages: A little dark and despairing

...himself through the eyes of others for the first time. ***Who is Albert Camus*** Albert Camus was a French author, a philosopher and a humanitarian. Born in 1913, Camus lived for a short 47 years but gave a great deal to the world of literature. Although married twice, Camus was publicly opposed to the concept of marriage judging it as “not normal” and both his wives suffered endless infidelities throughout their marriages. As a member of the communist party in 1935, an activist for the Algerian People’s Party, a French resistance member and writer for their underground newspaper, and a devoted human rights campaigner, Camus was never afraid to stand up for what he believed in no matter how his actions may be perceived. Both he and Jean Paul Sartre, a close friend to Camus were often classed as existentialists but Camus always... Read review

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Advantages: Fascinating insights into a great man and classic films
Disadvantages: You need to have seen at least a few of the films discussed

.... But at the same time, this is a stinging attack. Truffaut always sticks to the facts when complaining or criticising someone, and this honest approach adds sincerity and strength to his anger. Had my view of movie directors been slightly more naive, I would have been greatly upset at this friction between two of my favourite film-makers. As it is, the news that a man with Godard's intellectual pretensions is a bit of a 'sh*t' is not greatly shocking. But this documentation of a great rift between two key figures is of tremendous importance for cinema scholars everywhere. A similar example of Truffaut's righteous wrath occurs in a letter to the President, defending Jean-Paul Sartre, who was nearly arrested for selling an ultra-Left newspaper. The addition of a photograph of the incident is appropriate, and the illustrative material throughout... Read review

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