Reviews

Is it possible to die a happy death? This is the central question of A Happy Death, a novella in two parts.

The first part begins with Mersault, a young Algerian, committing a murder, taking the dead man’s money, and leaving the country with his health uncertain but his wallet full. The subsequent chapters of the first part are told in flashback, of Mersault’s ordinary life, his work, women, jealousy, the futility of a search for happiness, and the sun-drenched Algiers.

Part two tells of Mersault’s long travels, his experiments with different ways of living, and his final death as a happy man.

Time is money, but the reverse is equally true: Money is time – which forms the fundamental principle in Mersault’s art of living.

In order to be happy, time is necessary - a great deal of time. Happiness too is a long patience... Time can be bought. To be rich is to have time to be happy when one is worthy of being so.

In many ways, A Happy Death is the first sketch for The Outsider, but it can also be seen as a self-portrait, drawing from Camus’ early relationships, his youth, travels, and the philosophy which was later expounded in The Myth of Sisyphus. This is quintessential Camus, a literary masterpiece that blends the sensuous with the metaphysical, evoking a synesthetic experience of the Algerian life.

I have never come across anyone as lyrical and lucid as Camus in his description of the plight of the modern individual and the (often futile) search for happiness. Truly, reading Camus is like having a love affair with life.

I would definitely recommend it to all, especially to those who’ve read The Outsider. Worth a re-read.

It takes time to live. Like any work of art, life needs to be thought about.

ethanswim's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

gretatimaite's review against another edition

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4.0

I love rereading books. It's like facing your younger self. And, usually, I rediscover some gems :)))

'No-one is happy relatively - for a longer or shorter time. You're happy or you're not. That's all. And death has nothing to do with it - death is an accident of happiness, in that case.'

'You make the mistake of thinking you have to choose, that you have to do what you want, that there are conditions for happiness. What matters - all that matters, really - is the will to happiness, a kind of enormous, ever-present consciousness. The rest - women, art, success - is nothing but excuses. A canvas waiting for our embroideries.'

_sal_'s review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

From the start, Albert Camus had me enthralled for we are immediately thrown to witness the killing of a man, Zagreus who we have yet to know who he is. From the start A Happy Death was going to be a book that delve into the philosophy of a happy death we learn about Mersualts love interest at the time, Marthe and how she had had previous lovers, one of them strangely enough an older Zagreus (who I’m assuming raped her? Because she says she was only a little girl). Immediately again we are thrust with presumptions of why Mersualt kills Zagreus is it out of jealousy? Well no because after meeting Zagreus he comes to form a friendship with him. It after Zagreus expresses his disdain at having money (which does buy time according to him) but not being able to do anything with it because of his amputated legs, does Mersualt see a chance to live a fulfilling live, a live that can potentially lead as Zagreus suggests, into a happy death.

We constantly see however the struggle that Mersualt has in defining what it means to have a happy death.
“As Patrice navigates through love affairs, friendships, and encounters with death, he grapples with the fundamental question of what it means to live authentically in a world devoid of inherent meaning. Camus masterfully explores the human condition, painting a vivid portrait of a man's search for purpose amidst the chaos of existence”

Therefore to me this novel fell in the lines of previous ones I had read, that being Steppenwolf, and A man’s Search for meaning. A Happy death being a predecessor to both.

Camus’ absurdist prose is beautiful, one can picture the sea and the moon shimmering on it like oil. The cracks on the pavement filled with water in Prague. Truly Camus was an amazing writer, and it goes to show that even in works he did not deem publishable in his lifetime he still exerted a philosophical level unmatched in his simplicity.

“Believe me there is no such thing as great suffering, great regret, great memory....everything is forgotten, even a great love. That's what's sad about life, and also what's wonderful about it. There is only a way of looking at things, a way that comes to you every once in a while. That's why it's good to have had love in your life after all, to have had an unhappy passion- it gives you an alibi for the vague despairs we all suffer from.”

What did it matter if he existed for two or for twenty years? Happiness was the fact that he had existed.

You see, Mersualt, all the misery and cruelty of our civilisation can be measured by this one stupid axiom: happy nations have no history.

evaeyre's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

a little confusing but still really good! i adored the way he described things, both imagery and other sorts of descriptions in just a beautiful way! i’d like to read it in its original french someday

jeannez's review against another edition

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dark reflective slow-paced

3.25

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