Jean-Paul Sartre
2013-05-15
Sartre's greatest novel — and existentialism's key text — now introduced by James Wood.
Nausea is the story of Antoine Roquentin, a French writer who is horrified at his own existence. In impressionistic, diary form he ruthlessly catalogs his every feeling and sensation. His thoughts culminate in a pervasive, overpowering feeling of nausea which “spreads at the bottom of the viscous puddle, at the bottom of our time — the time of purple suspenders and broken chair seats; it is made of wide, soft instants, spreading at the edge, like an oil stain.”
Winner of the 1964 Nobel Prize in Literature (though he declined to accept it), Jean-Paul Sartre — philosopher, critic, novelist, and dramatist — holds a position of singular eminence in the world of French letters. La Nausée, his first and best novel, is a landmark in Existential fiction and a key work of the twentieth century.
Sartre's exploration of existentialism in 'Nausea' is a visceral and profound experience. The protagonist's journey through disillusionment with the world around him is captured with a raw, unfiltered intensity. Sartre's philosophical musings are intertwined seamlessly with the narrative, evoking a deep contemplation of existence and meaning. The novel's structure and stream-of-consciousness style challenge conventional storytelling, aligning perfectly with my appreciation for avant-garde literary techniques. The work resonates with a sense of urgency and authenticity that is both disturbing and captivating.
