March 10, 2003

"Nausea" by Jean-Paul Sartre: One of the leaders of the Existential movement, Sartre is known more for his philosophy than his fiction. "Nausea," his first major written work, was published in 1938, five years before his philosophical opus, "Being and Nothingness." It's a beautifully realized portrait of existential thought.

Antoine Roquentin is a French writer preparing a historical biography on the life of the Marquis de Rollebon, a rather peculiar aristocrat who lived around the time of the French Revolution. Roquentin has spent a better portion of ten years working on the project. Yet something inside him is changing. His subject matter leaves him cold. The past no longer has meaning. The world around him seems strange. Yes, something has changed. There's a sickness. It's everywhere; in the objects he touches, in nature, in the reality he perceives. And it's inside him.

The book is presented as the entries from Roquentin's personal diaries. They are found among his belongings and given to the world by generous editors. Roquentin tells firsthand of his battles with this nausea that is caused by his existence. With his work no longer capable of providing escape, Roquentin searches for relief from existence through art, sex, and love. All avenues lead to nausea. The only solace found is in the playing of an old jazz recording. The singer has succeeded where Roquentin has failed; she has escaped existence, living outside of physical restraints and limitations. She has cleansed herself of existence.

"Nausea" needs to be read. This is what it's all about, people. If you've been reading 70 Proof for a while, you're probably picking up on a pattern in our reviews. We like books that challenge the way the reader views the world. There needs to be more to writing than just stringing words together. Writers need to confront the human condition. Anything else is a waste of time.

How many people even know they exist? They just wander blindly through life out of habit and ignorance. It's revolting, really. But it's never too late to mend. If the biggest concern on your mind is what's going on at work or what you'll have for dinner or if you need to get a bigger apartment, wake up! Think! And if you aren't capable of thinking yourself, read the likes of Beckett, Camus, Chopin, Dostoevski, Hesse, Kerouac, Sartre... question, think, experience!

If you've never felt the nausea yourself, try harder.

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"The Wall and Other Stories" by Jean-Paul Sartre: This is a collection of five short stories that all have a sound basis in, you guessed it, Existentialism!

The title story, "The Wall," deals with a political prisoner awaiting execution. Knowing that his time is limited, he attempts to make sense out of life. He will be lined up along the wall in the morning and shot. No matter how hard he presses, that wall will never give. Of course, the wall represents death. The prisoner does what he can to postpone the inevitable, lying to his captors to gain time. The result isn't quite what he expected.

"The Room" deals with a young woman trying her best to accept her husband's insanity. Despite the protests of others, including her mother and father, the woman will not commit her spouse to a hospital. She loves him. She can't bear the idea of leaving his side. She gradually begins to lose hold of reality herself, even sharing in her husband's hallucinations.

If all life is meaningless, then what significance is there in murder? The narrator of "Erostratus" ponders that very question. He plans to kill randomly in order to prove his point and to gain fame. The name of the story is shared with the man who burned down the Temple of Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. No one remembers who built the Temple, Erostratus endures.

Sometimes existence can be beyond our control. In "Intimacy," a woman can't seem to leave her husband for her lover even though her marriage is void of passion, love, or even friendship. Intimate bonds are the most difficult to break.

Finally, there's "The Childhood of a Leader," which tells of a young French boy of little character who grows into an anti-semetic monster. Hate is the only thing that has ever given him power. He discovers that it's best not to try and see inside oneself, but to seek oneself in the eyes of others. Fear reflects nicely.

All five stories are rock solid, with "Erostratus" leading the way.

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