Fame! A Misunderstanding: A new translation of Albert Camus's complete notebooks(lareviewofbooks.org) |
Fame! A Misunderstanding: A new translation of Albert Camus's complete notebooks(lareviewofbooks.org) |
I was never a fan of French literature to begin with, so that might have something to do with it.
He will hereafter be known (and forgotten) not for what he is, but for the picture that a hurried journalist has given of him. To make a name for oneself in the literary world, it is no longer necessary to write many books. It suffices to have written one that the evening newspapers have talked about and on which the writer’s reputation will henceforth rest.
Ah, the days of morning and evening newspapers... A foreign country, they do things differently there.
(I also find fascinating those early XX century English letters/bios where Londoners send invitations by mail in the morning and get replies after lunch. Take that WhatsApp )
Absolutely pitiful.
And it's certainly made work more tedious and painful, which does not exactly lead to better outcomes in the long run. I would certainly recommend reading « La mécanique des lettres » on this topic, but unfortunately i can't find an english translation.