Book Beginnings on Fridays is hosted by Rose City Reader. Here you can share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.
The pages that follow deal with an absurd sensitivity that can be found widespread in the age – and not with an absurd philosophy which our time, properly speaking, has not known. It is therefore simply fair to point out, at the outset, what these pages owe to certain contemporary thinkers.
Huh?? To be honest I had to read these opening lines twice, before I understood what they said. Which gave me a brief flashback to the days, when I tried to read Immanuel Kant’s Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals in connection with a philosophy essay, I had to write. I recognised the words, they were definitely English, but they made no sense whatsoever, when put together. Not to me, anyway.
As it happens, I enjoy my summer reading to challenge me a bit. During summer, the pace at work tends to slow down. This means I have more time and energy in the evenings and also that I need some brain teasers outside of work. Most of my science and philosophy reading happens during the summer months.
This year I’ve finally started on Camus’ The Sisyphus Myth. Considering my long-standing interest in existentialism, it is rather scandalous, I only get to it now.
Like Circe, whom I recently read about, Sisyphus is a figure from Greek mythology. You may remember him; he was the guy who had to push a boulder up a mountain over and over again. Also, he had the dubious honour of having a boring and repetitive task named after him: the Sisyphean task.
From Goodreads
Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves—and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives—and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are. Inspired by the myth of a man condemned to ceaselessly push a rock up a mountain and watch it roll back to the valley below, The Myth of Sisyphus transformed twentieth-century philosophy with its impassioned argument for the value of life in a world without religious meaning.
Phew, I managed to post this week! I had an epic crash of my web page a few days ago – you know, the type where you can’t even get access via WordPress, but have to connect directly to your domain host. I now know a lot more about management of plug-in source files via remote FTP connection than I should have liked to. The joys of being a self-hosted blogger! But after a day filled with numerous “now I fixed it – oh no, it crashed again” it has been stable for a while. Fingers crossed!
I doubted myself there for a second but I’m very happy to see I wasn’t the only one who got an extra frown line reading that! I admire you for not giving up after that first line! I hope the rest of the novel becomes easier to read! Happy reading!
Haha, yes, it’s down to willpower and stubbornness, that I haven’t given up on this one yet. Unfortunately, the first couple of lines were the easy part and I now have a portfolio of frown lines across my face. 😉 But hey-ho sometimes you have to work for it, I just hope it’s worth the effort. Thanks Inge!
Kudos to you, Stargazer, for endeavoring into more challenging books during the summer. That’s counter to most people’s instincts during the season. As I found your review of Circe outstanding, I have high hopes for this one, too💜
Thanks Jonetta! 😊 I might have bitten off more than I can chew this time, but I am slowly making progress. Unfortunately, I can’t guarantee a review like Circe; the style and quality of my reviews really depend on the actual book and how it inspires me.
I do love books that make me think. Thanks for sharing, and here’s mine: “LITTLE DISASTERS”
Yes, so do I! This one certainly makes me think, but it’s so difficult to read, it’s doing my head in!
Glad you overcame the tech disasters. And good luck with this one. I would definitely be interested in what the book has to say but know I haven’t the intellectual stamina to find out. Hopefully you’ll post more when you’ve read it and a little bit of what you learn might stick with me!
Thanks Sandra, actually I am starting to doubt whether I have the intellectual stamina to find out. But hopefully my stubbornness will see me through. I do find it interesting and I agree with a lot of Camus’ thoughts, but the difficult language makes it a lot less enjoyable than I’d hoped for.
Not sure I’d want to tackle this book with an introduction like that. My book LEAVING TIME
No, I definitely see what you mean. I’m not regretting starting on it, but it really is hard work!
Thanks for mentioning this book Camus.
You’re welcome!
Hah, I love the way you describe “I recognised the words, they were definitely English, but they made no sense whatsoever, when put together.” I’ve definitely been there before too!! And glad to hear your technical difficulties have been resolved 🙂
Haha, yes, it is frustrating, when you can’t make sense of the writing. I couldn’t help laughing at myself though, because up until then, I thought I got on reasonably well with philosophical texts. That certainly brought me back to earth! 😆 Thanks, Hannah.
Boo to tech issues. Yay to books that can make you think, when that’s what you want 🙂 I’m all about fluff and escapism. Thanks for sharing and enjoy your week!
Yes, luckily the tech issues have been solved now, it had nothing to do with my blog. I like to switch around between genres – sometimes I like pure escapism, but at other times I prefer books which make my brain work 🙂 . Thanks for stopping by!
Holy Guacamole, I had to read that twice, like you! It transported me back to uni and lit classes!! x
Haha, I’m glad, it wasn’t just me. Not the best start of a book when you don’t even understand the opening lines!😆
”Huh??” MY REACTION EXACTLYY!! And now I am curious to read your detailed thoughts on this one once you’ve finished reading it! 😉 <3
Haha, the question is whether I’ll have any detailed thoughts when I am through! 🤔😆 It really isn’t a particularly easy read. But let’s see how it all goes.
I am so sorry to hear about the crash, Stargazer! That’s one of many things that scares me about self-hosting! Happy you could get it fixed though. Also love that you are challenging yourself with your summer reading. I enjoyed the philosophy courses I took in college and the discussions we had. ♥️
Thanks Jennifer. I still prefer being self-hosted, it does give you more freedom and flexibility. But I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it to everybody. Ah, good to hear you enjoy philosophy as well. I think it can lead to great discussions and sometimes it makes your head spin!
I cannot wait for your full review of this book – if there will be one. I consider the Myth of Sisyphus one of the greatest philosophical essays of the 20th century. It is my favourite philosophical non-fiction book. What I do with “heavy” books such as these is just go with the flow of the writing – even if I don’t understand certain passages I turn on my intuitive thinking and plough on 🙂 (But then I do share my birthday with Camus and we have telepathic and instinctive understanding between us).
I haven’t decided, but I really ought to write a review. I always find it’s a good way to gather my thoughts and also to remind myself what the book was about. Yes, I think you are right about ‘going with the flow’. Sometimes, when I didn’t get what he was saying, I just went on. Then a bit later it fell into place (not all the time, though). His thoughts were so interesting, but I would have enjoyed it more, if the book had been easier to read.
Yes, it is not an easy read but I have also noticed that some translations from the French make the English language unnecessarily complicating. I am not sure why – perhaps they want to convey the true spirit of writing and the author’s intentions (since French likes flowery sentences and English can be simpler) – but the result is that the writing is not the easiest to read. I am not stating that this is definitely what happened with The Myth of Sisyphus, but there may be just some drop of truth in that.
That is an interesting point. Unfortunately, I don’t speak any French, but I see what you mean about the flowery sentences. I don’t know what is the best approach when translating a complex text. Should you maintain all the complexity, even if the language you translate to allows for a more straightforward writing? I guess there are pros and cons, but in this case I would prefer a translation which is as uncomplicated as possible, whilst still maintaining the original meaning.
Ahhh, one that I must give a shot in the near future too! In fact, I should add it to my TBR so I don’t forget its existence hahah I look forward to hearing more of your thoughts on this if you do share them on your blog! 😀
Ooh, if you decide to read it, I would love to hear your thoughts as well. I am still gathering my thoughts, wondering if I can make a coherent review out of it! 😉
A fantastic post! I can’t help but relate Sisyphus’ task to blogging especially reading your last comment! Every time we get the website working something breaks and we start anew. This was wonderful and I hope this week finds all of your blogging efforts made easy!
Molly @ SilverButtonBooks
Thanks so much Molly! Haha, what a brilliant point, it didn’t even occur to me when writing the post. But the technical issues do sometimes feel like a Sisyphus task!
Wow this sounds like a heavy read, my friend! One that I don’t think I’d ever be able to get into. Kudos to you for challenging yourself! 👍🏼
Thanks, it really was a heavy read. On balance it was worth the effort though, because Camus writes about philosophical points which I am highly interested in, hence my motivation was strong.