The father
of Jacques Comery died when Jacques was only one year old. He died in the
trenches, fighting for the motherland. In Algeria his wife is left behind with
two children and out of necessity she moves back with her mother who lives in
Algiers.
The family
is bitterly poor with three adults and two children and it is only after a long
struggle that Jacques is allowed to go to secondary school.
Unfinished
The first man is a special book, because the writer was never
able to finish it. Albert Camus died
in a car-accident on January 4th 1960. This unfinished manuscript
was found later in his bag. He had made notes for parts of the book he still wanted
to write and he also never had the chance to correct the manuscript.
It was
published in 1994, and the publishers left the manuscript as it was. They only
corrected the punctuation and placed footnotes to show where Camus gave alternative sentences or
made a remark.
This has
been the right choice. In the first place you get a really good idea of the
story Albert Camus wanted to tell,
and secondly it also gives an insight in how a writer works.
That the
story is unfinished is no problem, the story that is there, is absolutely
beautiful and worthwhile.
Poverty
In The First man Albert Camus describes
his own childhood as the son of French colonists in Algeria and he does this
vividly. The heath of Algiers that stifles everything during the afternoon, the
little boys who run around the city, causing mischief and sometimes have enough
money to buy sweet pastry from the Arabic salesmen, while the sea breeze gives
some coolness. You see the city with colorful customs of the French, Spanish
and Arabic inhabitants.
But he also
describes very well the restrictions poor people have to deal with. If there
are no books, no education, then it becomes very difficult to understand the
outside world.
Grandmother
is illiterate, the mother can read and write some, but has such a limited
vocabulary that half of what she reads has no meaning for her.
It is not
just misery for young Jacques, it is clear the mother loves her children very
much and the uncle is also a good man who tries his best for the boys.
Grandmother can be strict and harsh, but this is also because of the
circumstances.
 |
| Albert Camus, 1913-1960 |
Mister Bernard
Luckily for Jacques he has his teacher, Mister Bernard. He will play a huge role in Jacques
life, just as Albert Camus himself
also had his teacher to thank for the success he had in later life, becoming a
philosopher, writer and even a Nobel prize winner in 1957.
In the
Dutch version there are two letters in this book, the letter Albert Camus wrote to his teacher to
thank him, and the reply. I really loved to read those, it shows how much a
teacher can change sometimes in the life of some students.
Mister
Bernard has his own methods and knows how to stimulate his pupils and catch
their interest. At the same time he also has a firm discipline. It is due to
his intervention that Jacques can study at the lyceum, even if grandmother said
no in the first place because that would mean that Jacques would not be able to
earn money for six more years.
It is
moving to read how the young boy wrestles with his new life and the two worlds
he now lives in, that are separated and will never come together. With each
lesson at school he removes himself further away from his family. He feels
ashamed of his family, and then also feels ashamed for feeling ashamed.
It is the
story of a boy who has to raise and educate himself. He is the first man, since
he has no example, no role-model on the road he is going.
This was
the first book by Albert Camus that
I read and I absolutely loved it. I think The
first man is one of the most beautiful books I ever read.
Original
French title: Le premier homme
Published
in 1994
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