2006-05-06 The Novel as Philosophy

I would recommend _The Fall_, a
first person narrative of a barrister, a fellow
with an exceedingly high self-opinion. Through his actions and
thoughts, we soon discover he is flawed, and by the end of the book wonder whether he is not indeed entirely dissolute.

It is short pithy book written in beautiful, simple text, but with much food for thought.

The philosophical debate that this book
engenders relates to a famous painting from whence
the title of the novel is derived, which has
caused endless speculation about Camus' interpretation of the nature of 'integrity' and its corollary, 'corruption'
(the first person narrative is a barrister, after all).

As a highly stylised comment on hypocrisy and self-worth,
it is pure brilliance.

Highly readable.