Thursday, September 24, 2009

Camus's American Journals, Part 4

"Small inn in the heart of the Adirondacks a thousand miles from everything. Entering my room, this strange feeling: during a business trip a man arrives, without any preconceived idea, at a remote inn in the wilderness. And there, the silence of nature, the simplicity of the room, the remoteness of everything, make him decide to stay there permanently, to cut all ties with what had been his life and to send no news of himself to anyone."

2 comments:

Ethel Rohan said...

Is that send "no" news of himself to anyone?

Wow! What a sudden, drastic decision. I can see how attractive a choice that would have been for him, and how much more attractive it would seem to him today. Although I don't think Camus could have lived in these times?

Andrew Roe said...

Ack! Thanks for catching that typo, Ethel. That's what happens when you post stuff quickly. Now fixed.

Interesting to think of what Camus would make of American Idol, etc.

This passage also reminded me of a recurring theme in American literature: the retreat from the bustling world to nature and/or the self (from Thoreau's Walden Pond to Don DeLillo's reclusive rock star in his novel Great Jones Street). But maybe it's not so "American" after all...