The First Man
Encyclopedia
The First Man is Albert Camus
' unfinished
final novel
.
On January 4, 1960, at the age of forty-six, Camus was killed in a car accident outside Paris
. The incomplete manuscript of The First Man, the autobiographical novel
Camus was working on at the time of his death, was found in the mud at the accident site. Camus' daughter, Catherine Camus, later transcribed the handwritten manuscript to type press, and published the book in 1995. Camus hoped that it would be his masterpiece and some critics agreed with his view, even in its unfinished state - largely citing the physical intensity and uninhibited psychology of boyhood as removed from the reservedness of Camus' other novels.
. In a departure from the intellectual and philosophical weight of his earlier works, Camus wanted this novel to be "heavy with things and flesh." It is a novel of basic and essential things: childhood, schooldays, the life of the body, the power of the sun and the sea, the painful love of a son for his mother, the search for a lost father. But it is also about the history of a colonial people in a vast and not always hospitable African landscape; about the complex relationship of a "mother" country to its colonists; about the intimate effects of war and political revolution. Most importantly, The First Man brings Camus to life again, allowing us a view of the man—visceral and vulnerable—that had never before been revealed.
and starring Jacques Gamblin
, was released in 2011.
Albert Camus
Albert Camus was a French author, journalist, and key philosopher of the 20th century. In 1949, Camus founded the Group for International Liaisons within the Revolutionary Union Movement, which was opposed to some tendencies of the Surrealist movement of André Breton.Camus was awarded the 1957...
' unfinished
Unfinished work
An unfinished work is creative work that has not been finished. Its creator may have chosen never to finish it or may have been prevented from doing so by circumstances outside of their control such as death. Such pieces are often the subject of speculation as to what the finished piece would have...
final novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
.
On January 4, 1960, at the age of forty-six, Camus was killed in a car accident outside Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. The incomplete manuscript of The First Man, the autobiographical novel
Autobiographical novel
An autobiographical novel is a form of novel using autofiction techniques, or the merging of autobiographical and fiction elements. The literary technique is distinguished from an autobiography or memoir by the stipulation of being fiction...
Camus was working on at the time of his death, was found in the mud at the accident site. Camus' daughter, Catherine Camus, later transcribed the handwritten manuscript to type press, and published the book in 1995. Camus hoped that it would be his masterpiece and some critics agreed with his view, even in its unfinished state - largely citing the physical intensity and uninhibited psychology of boyhood as removed from the reservedness of Camus' other novels.
Plot summary
The novel takes Jacques Cormery from birth to his years in the lycee, or secondary school, in AlgiersAlgiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
. In a departure from the intellectual and philosophical weight of his earlier works, Camus wanted this novel to be "heavy with things and flesh." It is a novel of basic and essential things: childhood, schooldays, the life of the body, the power of the sun and the sea, the painful love of a son for his mother, the search for a lost father. But it is also about the history of a colonial people in a vast and not always hospitable African landscape; about the complex relationship of a "mother" country to its colonists; about the intimate effects of war and political revolution. Most importantly, The First Man brings Camus to life again, allowing us a view of the man—visceral and vulnerable—that had never before been revealed.
Film adaptation
A film adaptation of the novel, directed by Gianni AmelioGianni Amelio
Gianni Amelio is an Italian film director.-Biography:Amelio was born in San Pietro di Magisano, province of Catanzaro, Calabria. His father moved to Argentina soon after his birth. He spent his youth and adolescence with his mother and his grandmother...
and starring Jacques Gamblin
Jacques Gamblin
Jacques Gamblin is a French actor.He was born in Granville, Manche. He studied at the Centre dramatique de Caen before he tried to film in Paris.-Filmography:*Périgord Noir...
, was released in 2011.