Last book written by Camus. Camus was a Noble Prize-Winning Author. Original language was French

exquisite.(10) ( )

It's a good book, but it's not a great book: the style is a little monotonous, and it does not differ in any way from other childhood stories lived at the same time. The description of life in Algeria can transpose to any French region. It is probably necessary to consider the fact that this was a draft.
However, one thing comforts: the childhood depicted, although flawed, was happy and free, with an undemonstrative but loving entourage.

Ndër hedhurinat e automobilit, në të cilin Kamyja gjeti vdekjen, kishte mbetur edhe një dorëshkrim me korrigjime, variante e fshirje: kalkulime, që përbëjnë arkitekturën origjinale të "Njeriut të Parë", mbi të cilin e bija, Katerinë Kamy, pas një pune filologjike tepër të lodhshme e të përpiktë, rindërtoi tekstin e këtij botimi. Ne roman shquhet lehtësisht një narracion i fortë, mallengjyes dhe mbi të gjitha autobiografik. Është një vepër e bazuar në një rikthim pas, duke na folur shumë mbi autorin dhe gjenezën e mendimit të tij. Nëpërmjet mbresave dhe emocioneve të protagonistit, i cili, nga dëshira për të gjetur kujtimin e të atit, të zhdukur gjaté Luftes se Parë Botërore, kthehet në Algjeri për të kontaktuar me ata njerëz, të cilët kishin njohur të atin e që ndoshta ishin ende gjallë."

Kamyja në këtë forme të veçantë ripërshkon pjesë të rëndësishme të jetës së vet: fëmijërinë algjeriane, përvojat e hidhura të një periudhe të gjatë varfërie, gjërat e përditshme, miqësitë, traditat, ndjenjat, ëndrrat e jetuara mes një anonimie, ku nuk ekzistonte as e kaluara, as e ardhmja: prej nga ku ngrihet figura e nje njeriu ideal, pikërisht "Njeriut të Parë".

When he died in a tragic and unforeseen car crash in 1960, novelist and existentialist Albert Camus had a draft of this work in his briefcase. It was not published until the 1990s, but is the most autobiographical of Camus’ works. The main character, like the author, grew up impoverished in Algeria and escaped a life of the same through education. This tale, properly characterized as a coming-of-age novel, shares how the great writer and future Nobel-Prize winner understood his maturity into an adult man.

The protagonist Jacques Cormery grew up not knowing his father. The father was never married to Cormery’s mother and died in battle in World War I. Jacques’ mother was partially deaf and also mute. His grandmother lived with the family, but was illiterate. So his family background was not ideal for social ascent. He attended school, and a teacher appreciated his keen mind. Through this teacher’s involvement, he won a scholarship to the lycée, the French equivalent of the gymnasium or an advanced high school.

His studies at the lycée opened the world to him, both intellectually and interpersonally. Despite gaining and growing, Jacques was still a child in the eyes of his mother and grandmother. Like many Americans who are the first in their families to attend college, achieving adulthood is not an automatic process; the world of work, not study, is viewed as the threshold. Thus, he was forced to labor during a summer break. This experience not only won him money for himself and for his family, but it also won him enduring respect of the matriarchs in his life.

This work is frankly not as great as The Myth of Sisyphus, The Stranger, or The Plague. That might be due to the fact that we have only a draft, not a finished product. The writing is good, but just not entirely polished. The value resides in its autobiographical nature and in its portrayal of pre-World-War-II Algeria through the eyes of an attentive but impoverished young lad. The reader cannot help but wonder what might have become of this text had Camus lived past 1960.

Incidentally, it took 30+ years for this text to be published because Camus’ family was afraid the unpolished nature would discredit his notoriety. Fortunately, his philosophical and literary greatness has withstood the tests of time. Accordingly, Albert’s daughter Catherine felt free enough to share this tale with the world. For us, it contains the unvarnished passion of rolling sentences and cultural acuity. Fans of Camus (like myself) will enjoy gaining a deeper understanding of this great twentieth-century figure, about how he as a child transformed into a man of courage. ( )