Who's reading whom?

J.G.Ballard's first volume of collected non-fiction, 'A User's Guide to the Millennium' will be published by HarperCollins in January

Saturday 30 December 1995 00:02 GMT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Who's reading whom?

When Albert Camus died in a car crash in 1960, the manuscript of his last novel The First Man (Hamish Hamilton) was found in the wreckage. It is perhaps two thirds of what Camus intended - enough to publish - but as his daughter points out in the introduction, its colonialist subject matter and the fact that Camus was under attack from the extreme left- wing of the French intelligensia, convinced his widow it was untimely to release it. We are lucky to have it now. It is the most brilliant semi- autobiographical account of an Algerian childhood amongst the grinding poverty and stoicism of poor French-Algerian colonials. Camus's notes and revisions appear as an appendix and the evolution of the book is clearly visible. His ability to conjure landscape and atmosphere in long, long sentences of exact description without resorting to simile or metaphor is extraordinary.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in