Description: Albert Camus is one of the iconic figures of twentieth-century French literature, one of France's most widely read modern literary authors and one of the youngest winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature. As the author of L'Etranger and the architect of the notion of 'the Absurd' in the 1940s, he shot to prominence in France and beyond. His work nevertheless attracted hostility as well as acclaim and he was increasingly drawn into bitter political controversies, especially the issue of France's place and role in the country of his birth, Algeria. Most recently, postcolonial studies have identified in his writings a set of preoccupations ripe for revisitation. Situating Camus in his cultural and historical context, this 2007 Companion explores his best-selling novels, his ambiguous engagement with philosophy, his theatre, his increasingly high-profile work as a journalist and his reflection on ethical and political questions that continue to concern readers today.
Brief description: Edward J. Hughes is Professor of French Studies at Queen Mary, University of London.
Review Quotes: "The Cambridge Companion to Camus does an excellent job of both providing a solid introduction to Camus and also situating his work in a contemporary context...the volume is a welcome and timely consolidation and updating of scholarship on Camus, and one which will appeal--without being diluted as a consequence--to a very diverse audience."
-Amanda Crawley Jackson, University of Sheffield, UK, H-France Review