josi767's reviews
119 reviews

The Rebel: An Essay on Man in Revolt by Albert Camus

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*Quotes*

The rebel

When he rebels, a man identifies himself with other men and so surpasses himself, and from this point of view human solidarity is metaphysical.

Rebellion, through apparently negative, since it creates nothing, is profoundly positive in that it reveals the part of man which must always be defended.

We can only deduce from this observation that rebellion is the act of an educated man who is aware of his own rights

In absurdist experiences, suffering is individual.



Metaphysical rebellion

Metaphysical rebellion is the movement by which man protests against his own creation and against the whole of creation.

Logic founded on passions reverses the traditional sequence of reasoning and places conclusion before the premises.

Faith leads to immortal life. But faith presumes the acceptance of mystery and evil, and resignation to injustice.

Whis is the bitter end of Metaphysical rebellion? Metaphysical revolution. The master of the world, after his legitimacy has been contested, must be overthrown. Man must occupy his place....becoming God.

A nihilist is not one who believes in nothing, but one who does not believe in what exists.

Thus from absolutel despair will spring infinite joy, from blind servitude, unbounded freedom.

To say yes to the world, to reproduce it, is simultaneously to re-create the world and oneself, to become the great artist, the creator.

To be nothing - that is the cry of the mind exhausted by its own rebellion.

The rebel does not ask for life, but for reasons for living. He rejects the consequences implied by death. If nothing lasts, then nothing is justified; everything that dies is deprived of meaning. To fight against death amounts to claiming that life has meaning, to fight for order and unity.


Historical Rebellion 

Morality, when it is formal, devours. 

The entire histor of mankind is, in any case, nothing but a prolonged fight to the death for the conquest of universal prestige and absolute power. It is, in its essence, imperialist. 

Politics is religion, and transcendent chirstianity - that of the hereafter - establishes the master of the earth by means of the slave's heavens. That is why atheism and the revolutionary spirit are only two aspects of the same movement of liberation. 

Those who deny everything at least understand that negation is a calamity. They can then open their hearts to the misery of others and finally deny themselves. 

History is governed by only two principles: the state and social revolution, revolution and counter revolution, which can never be reconciled, and which are engaged in a death struggle. The state is the incarnation of crime....therefore revolution is the incarnation of good. 

Those who love, friends or lovers, know that love is not only a binding flash, but a long and painful struggle in the darkness for the realization of definitive recognition and reconciliation. 


In progress......
Of Blood and Fire by Ryan Cahill

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adventurous lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Very Tolkien-like 
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

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adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

"Maybe if you stopped sulking in your self-pity, you’d see that you have everything you need" 
Atonement of the Spine Cleaver by F. E. Bryce

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

3.25

This book is part of a series, it is not a stand alone. 
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

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

3.0

The Stranger by Albert Camus

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

4.0

Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

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

4.0

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

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emotional hopeful inspiring sad fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

So this is it. You are scored on my heart, Clark. You were from the first day you walked in, with your ridiculous clothes and your bad jokes and your complete inability to ever hide a single thing you felt. You changed my life so much more than this money will ever change yours. Don’t think of me too often. I don’t want to think of you getting all maudlin. Just live well. Just live.
Looking for Alaska by John Green

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emotional hopeful lighthearted sad 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? No

4.5

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

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funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25