The summation of the existentialist philosophy threaded throughout all his writing Albert
Camus' The Myth of Sisyphus is translated by Justin O'Brien with an introduction by James Wood
in Penguin Classics.In this profound and moving philosophical statement Camus poses the
fundamental question: is life worth living? If human existence holds no significance what can
keep us from suicide? As Camus argues if there is no God to give meaning to our lives humans
must take on that purpose themselves. This is our 'absurd' task like Sisyphus forever rolling
his rock up a hill as the inevitability of death constantly overshadows us. Written during the
bleakest days of the Second World War The Myth of Sisyphus (Le Mythe de Sisyphe) argues for an
acceptance of reality that encompasses revolt passion and above all liberty.This volume
contains several other essays including lyrical evocations of the sunlit cities of Algiers and
Oran the settings of his great novels The Outsider and The Plague.Albert Camus (1913-60) is
the author of a number of best-selling and highly influential works all of which are published
by Penguin. They include The Fall The Outsider and The First Man. Awarded the Nobel Prize for
Literature in 1957 Camus is remembered as one of the few writers to have shaped the
intellectual climate of post-war France but beyond that his fame has been international.If
you enjoyed The Myth of Sisyphus you might like Camus' The Outsider also available in Penguin
Modern Classics.'Camus could never cease to be one of the principal forces in our domain nor
to represent in his own way the history of France and of this century'Jean-Paul Sartre
