Reviews

la nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre

amehlia's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging 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? It's complicated

3.5

hilgertzoe07's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

5.0

guntaschanni's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark informative reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

margarete's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

“i have no troubles, i have money like a capitalist, no boss, no wife, no children; i exist, that’s all. and that trouble is so vague, so metaphysical that i am ashamed of it.”

roquentin is conflicted between a genuine longing for connection and belief in a higher purpose/power and then neutered by his failures to connect. oscillation between two extremes—leaving one numb. his ability to be so observant tends to harm—adventure occurs when he allows himself to fully trust in the unknowable, out of ego. took me a while to fully get into it but the ending was tender and complex and even hopeful, which i wasn’t expecting.

naresh_putturaya's review against another edition

Go to review page

slow-paced

1.5

darkmatter's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional reflective

5.0

sartre SHINES in his fiction. beautiful writing and imagery throughout roquentin’s masterfully done unreliable narrating. not to mention the absolutely INSANE conversation he has with anny!!!! the way they’ve been living the same fever dream but still can’t connect… the way they’re right next to each other but miles away… the way she continually asserts her personhood in front of him but still doesn’t see HIS identity and HIS individuality.. ough!

vudemn's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

Beše mart, zima na izmaku. Dok smo prolazili pored zgrada, sa njihovih krovova je kapljala voda, sneg koji se topio... vetar nas je ošinuo na onoj staroj tvrđavi, i osetio sam neku prazninu u sebi, neku muku, samoproždirući bol. Upitala me je: " Da li si nekada osetio kako želiš da ispovraćaš svoju dušu?" Nisam znao šta da joj odgovorim... jer, šta je duša? Da li je ona uvek postojana? Da li, ako je ispovraćamo, živimo sa apatijom koja zauzme tu prazninu gde je ona nekad bila, ili umiremo poput biljke koja biva iščupana iz vlažne zemlje?
Svi smo iskusili neki oblik mučnine. Kod mene, ona se javlja u nekom koruptovanom obliku, evoluirala je mešajući se sa drugim stanjima, stvarajući usput nešto opako, obimno i izopačeno. Mnogi bi me razapeli sada, ali moram prikazati jednu paralelu, poređenje stanja Mučnine iz ove knjige sa stanjem Straha i Prezira u drugoj. Ta knjiga nije ni po čemu(osim po tom sličnom stanju uma) slična Mučnini. To je Tompsonova "Fear and loathing in Las Vegas". Ideje su slične, uzroci se razlikuju, pošto je Strah stvoren pod uticajem psihoaktivnih supstanci, ali one reaguju na sam organizam koji stvara Strah, samim tim, nije samo supstanca potrebna da bi on nastao, već i stanje uma određenog pojedinca koji u sebi već ima predispozicije za njegovo stvaranje(kao što konzument LSD-ja može biti u opasnosti nakon uzimanja ako već ima preduslov za nastanak šizofrenije). U ovoj knjizi, na glavnog lika, pored stanja uma u kojem se nalazi, utiče okruženje koje u njemu stvara osećaj Mučnine. Ali, to okruženje JESTE potrebno da se ona pojavi, bez toga se samo nazire - ne postoji - jer postojanje jeste ono što je Sada. Poništavanje svega što je bilo ili svega što će biti je jedan od glavnih egzistencijalističkih problema, s obzirom da Sada predstavlja uvek nešto prolazno već u sledećem trenutku(sam trenutak nije moguće zamrznuti). Zato se Antoan oduševljava predmetima koje Sada dodiruje i opaža ih, jer oni Postoje, njihova promenljivost je manja od čovekove promenljivosti, stanje uma ni u jednom trenutku ne stagnira, ne stoji, dakle - ne postoji. Antoan odustaje od pisanja o istoriji, upravo zbog njene bezvrednosti, nepostojanosti. Da, on želi da ostavi trag, da nađe ili napiše nešto što je izvan postojanja, nešto više od njega, ali se ne usuđuje da krene jer se plaši da nema taj dar.
Tu se vraćamo na Strah.
HS Tompson je bio ličnost koju odlikuje nepredvidivost, raznobojno stanje uma(ne u tolikoj meri zbog korišćenja narkotika, kao što rekoh, predispozicija postoji). On je, u neku ruku, postojao jer je za njega trenutak jedino bio bitan. Gledao sam neki intervju gde je njegova žena rekla kako zna da je Tompson uvek nestabilan, jer znalo se da on može svakog trenutka da se ubije, što je i uradio u jednom trenutku. Ali on je svoj Strah savladao, ukrotio i odagnao, shvativši da na kraju ne postoji ništa osim kraja, a da njegova zaostavština može biti dovoljna da obezbedi postojanje njega i nakon smrti(sa jedne strane, lakše, rekao bih- potomka, a sa druge - svoja dela).
Razlika između Tompsona i Antoana je u tome što je ovaj prvi uspeo, što je Postojao i u trenutku, i u vremenu nakon, dok drugi strepi od prošlog i budućeg.
Pored tog poređenja, našao sam i pesmu koja se provlači kroz roman, preslušao je(Sophie Tucker verziju iz '26 ali mi je Fizdžerald-verzija najdraža), i seta koja u njoj vlada može se uporediti sa onim žalom za odbeglim trenutkom koji više ne ulazi u Postojano.
At the end, mogu reći da je ovo jedna od najboljih knjiga koje sam pročitao ove godine, pa i šire, ali neću da ulazim previše u prošlost, zašto bih? Ona ne postoji.

frivolous_cake's review against another edition

Go to review page

reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

    I believe I should have read Sartre's essays before his fiction, for the abstraction and intensity of the what this book shows, the ideas are not presented in the best way.
    Antoine's carelessness sorounding his own past is cast in a way that is not like it's slipping away from him in an intense manor, and more as if he just... forgot to tell the reader.
     Another idea communicated poorly is the 'perfect moments'. They are stumbled through and clumsily described, making the whole concept feel less mysterious and tantalising, and more confusing and unsatisfactory.
      In reverse of all this though; is the imagery and descriptions around the nausea. All the sequence were Antoine becomes aware of the life and force sorounding him are incredibly described and talked through. All these scenes are what give this book a pretty good rating, but there are enough flaws to make me feel just disappointed.
     The fear and horror that comes with living is a very real one. I still feel scared all little when thinking of the times I spent as an insomniac child, late into the hours of the night completely alone and crying due to the uncertainty of a life I may not live. I wish I had this book then, when the dark was my friend.

ame_'s review against another edition

Go to review page

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

3.5

willywoolley's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

200 pages without really saying much. I especially despised the chapter that rambled about a Chestnut tree root for 10 pages.