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Nausea (New Directions Paperbook) Paperback – March 25, 2013
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Sartre's greatest novel ― and existentialism's key text ― now introduced by James Wood.
Nausea is the story of Antoine Roquentin, a French writer who is horrified at his own existence. In impressionistic, diary form he ruthlessly catalogs his every feeling and sensation. His thoughts culminate in a pervasive, overpowering feeling of nausea which “spreads at the bottom of the viscous puddle, at the bottom of our time ― the time of purple suspenders and broken chair seats; it is made of wide, soft instants, spreading at the edge, like an oil stain.”
Winner of the 1964 Nobel Prize in Literature (though he declined to accept it), Jean-Paul Sartre ― philosopher, critic, novelist, and dramatist ― holds a position of singular eminence in the world of French letters. La Nausée, his first and best novel, is a landmark in Existential fiction and a key work of the twentieth century.
- Print length192 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherNew Directions
- Publication dateMarch 25, 2013
- Dimensions5.2 x 0.6 x 8.1 inches
- ISBN-109780811220309
- ISBN-13978-0811220309
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Editorial Reviews
Review
― Atlantic Monthly
"With Nausea Sartre has succeeded magnificently―and horribly―in extending the realm of the novel to the outermost reaches of naked self-examination."
― Harvey Swados, New York Post
"It is the most enjoyable book Sartre has ever written."
― A.J. Liebling, The New Yorker
About the Author
Richard Howard is the author of eleven books of poetry, including Untitled Subjects, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1970. He is the translator for more than 150 works from the French language. He received the American Book Award for his translation of Charles Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du Mal.
James Wood, the prominent critic, essayist, and novelist, is a professor at Harvard and a staff writer for The New Yorker. Born in Durham, England, he began his career at The Guardian and later became a senior editor at The New Republic. He currently serves on the editorial board of The London Review of Books and The Common in Cambridge, MA. His books include The Irresponsible Self: On Laughter and the Novel, How Fiction Works, and, most recently, The Fun Stuff: And Other Essays.
Product details
- ASIN : 0811220303
- Publisher : New Directions; Reprint edition (March 25, 2013)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 192 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9780811220309
- ISBN-13 : 978-0811220309
- Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
- Dimensions : 5.2 x 0.6 x 8.1 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #11,470 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3 in Existentialist Philosophy
- #493 in Classic Literature & Fiction
- #1,314 in Literary Fiction (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
Novelist, playwright, and biographer Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-80) is widely considered one of the greatest philosophers of the twentieth century. His major works include "No Exit," "Nausea," "The Wall," "The Age of Reason," "Critique of Dialectical Reason," "Being and Nothingness," and "Roads to Freedom," an allegory of man's search for commitment, and not, as the man at the off-licence says, an everyday story of French country folk.
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book engaging and thought-provoking. They describe it as an interesting read that explores issues important to them. However, some readers feel the plot lacks excitement and is boring.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book engaging and easy to read. They appreciate the insightful philosophies and beautiful descriptions of nature.
"...I think this is a good order to read the books, if you want to get anything out of Being and Nothingness..." Read more
"...yiu hooked if youre into journal like books, but overall its an interesting book it got me reading and im not a big reader" Read more
"...Wood treats at least some elements of "Nausea" as a great artistic achievement...." Read more
"...There are a couple of strikingly beautiful descriptions of nature, i.e. the sunset on the beach and the tree in the park, and the ending with it’s..." Read more
Customers find the book thought-provoking and intriguing. They say it's a good introduction to existentialist thinking and exploration of what's important to them. The book is described as heavy both in subject matter and density, with great character development. It makes you feel your own existence and considers every detail significant.
"This is an interesting, thought-provoking, "deep" novel. This is not a fast-paced, plot-heavy novel. It is not intended to be that...." Read more
"Loved the thought provocation! Check out Beck’s Book Club podcast on apple after you read for an extra accompaniment!" Read more
"...The novel is under 200 pages, but there’s a lot to unpack in this novel, and there are a lot of cultural references that I wanted to be sure I would..." Read more
"...This is particularly intriguing given what seems like a Buddhist enlightenment episode towards the end of the book, where Roquentin is cured of his..." Read more
Customers find the plot boring, mundane, and lacking in plot. They feel depressed and miserable without the theme's content.
"...This is possibly for the same reasons I found it boring to the point of unreadability...." Read more
"The book is written in the form of a journal which is rather mundane, uneventful and lacking in plot, but towards the end, a chain of events happens..." Read more
"...with this classic, but I was disappointed. Actually, it was kind of boring. How this got to be so famous is beyond me." Read more
"...cafes, dictionaries, historicism and paintings, the book was designed to be hypnotically boring...." Read more
Reviews with images
Get to the root! Of existence
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2016This is an interesting, thought-provoking, "deep" novel. This is not a fast-paced, plot-heavy novel. It is not intended to be that. It is intended to make you think.
You can read the other reviews for what the book is about. My take on it is that it is a very thought-provoking, and sometimes confusing (in a good way) way of thinking. I really was not following the beginning of the book ("What is the point of this book?!"), but, as other reviewers' suggested, I kept reading and about 1/2 or 2/3 or the way through, it came together.
During the last third, you really get an insight of the main character's mind/way of thinking. It lays out a bare existence of reality, which, to some means it is bleak, while to others it means it is hopeful. Sartre was of the latter view and this is how I suggest you read/interpret it. It is actually quite beautiful in the way that it can provoke these two views simultaneously.
I initially bought Being and Nothingness, then was suggested the Transcendental Ego as an intro, and then was suggested Nausea as a prelude into those other books. I think this is a good order to read the books, if you want to get anything out of Being and Nothingness (Nausea -> Transcendental Ego->Being and Nothingness).
Keep reading until the end! It's a short book and won't take forever. If you are invested in trying to understand Being and Nothingness (which is a behemoth and will take forever to read), read this first, along with Transcendental Ego, so you don't feel like you're wasting time on B&N.
Enjoy!
- Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2024Loved the thought provocation! Check out Beck’s Book Club podcast on apple after you read for an extra accompaniment!
5.0 out of 5 stars Get to the root! Of existenceLoved the thought provocation! Check out Beck’s Book Club podcast on apple after you read for an extra accompaniment!
Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2024
Images in this review - Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2016EDIT: Just wanted to clarify that it was Baudelaire who utilized the flaneur and not Baudrillard. That was an error in my typing. Also wanted to mention it's Bouvile and not Paris as a commenter, Francis, helpfully pointed out.
Hey, I’m a pessimist. There, I said it. I’m already horrified at my existence. I don’t need anyone else doing it for me, but that’s exactly what Jean-Paul Sartre did in Nausea, the story of a writer (Anton Roquentin) who becomes horrified by his own existence while working on a novel about a historical figure. Over the course of the novel, in true existentialist fashion, Roquentin wonders about the purpose of his life, whether or not he really has free will, the idea of “adventure,” and what it all means. In other words, if you talk to me for more than ten minutes at a time, you’ll be hearing the gist of this novel. It’s not the kind of book you can breeze through. It’s heavy, both in subject matter and in density.
I was actually surprised how much a French history course from my college days came up here. I instantly thought of the idea of the flaneur, which was essentially a person who walked, wandered around, and just observed. Roquentin spends a lot of time as a flaneur, wandering around Bouville and observing the lives of others. His perceived invisibility during his walks make him seem very much in the tradition of Baudelaire’s flaneur. These are the guys that stare at you when you’re out at the store.
I’ll be honest–I read Nausea in tandem with the Sparknotes on the novel. The novel is under 200 pages, but there’s a lot to unpack in this novel, and there are a lot of cultural references that I wanted to be sure I wouldn’t miss. This is the type of novel that all novels should aspire to be--every detail is significant.
Roquentin looks to the Marquis de Rollebon to try to figure out his own existence, but he struggles to find anything definitive about the past, so he is forced to turn to the present. Even Roquentin’s writings about Rollebon seem more like they’re based on his own life, so he’s also calling objectivity into question. Finally, by comparing his own life to that of the Marquis, Roquentin brings up the idea of a duality present in existentialism–the conscious self and the kind of internal “other” that observes that conscious self. To Roquentin, little seems to make sense.
And this was only about 50 pages in. See what I mean?
- Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2022The beginning gets yiu hooked if youre into journal like books, but overall its an interesting book it got me reading and im not a big reader
- Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2023I love how the author describe the philosophical concept of Nausea through the medium of a journal. Like the main character, I do suffer from the Nausea when dealing with the mundane personally-uninteresting aspects of everyday life.
- Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2020I got to Sartre through Bukowski.More precisely a list of Bukowski’s favored authors.
Nausea aims to be a philosophical novel, But it isn’t.It’s a collection of essays presented as someone’s diary.It’s Sartre’s earliest work, his arguments and thoughts are not systematized yet, they are all over the place.Every few pages you find a raw gem of insight.
The book describes what is referred to as bouts of “Nausea”, Nausea being “Existential Crisis”, each bout of Nausea is a philosophical essay.It’s not an easy read,the essays are surrounded by fillers to link them together, and it’s hard to distill insights from what’s written.
I suggest reading the introduction and forward first.It gives you an essential framework to stick to, and better understand what’s written.
If you are after Sartre’s insights and not his writing ( i personally didn’t find him a good novelist) i think it’s better to read a book about his work , written by someone else, which would be more to the point.
I’m going to give a few of his essays a try, before decided if i should give up on it or give Being and nothingness a try.
Top reviews from other countries
- SamReviewed in Canada on September 16, 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars Great story
Kept me hooked through the whole book!
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Isadora LoboReviewed in Brazil on August 30, 2021
5.0 out of 5 stars Edição bonita, simples e agradável de ler
Gostei da edição, achei a capa bem bonita e o livro agradável de manusear. A fonte e a diagramação são ok, provavelmente um pouco cansativas depois de um tempo de leitura, ppr serem muito pequenas e o espaçamento meio apertado pro meu gosto (ainda não li, é um palpite só de dar uma olhada). A capa é de papel bem fino, daquelas que enverga fácil, mas gosto da textura. Adorei a gramatura das páginas, achei ideal. Em relação ao livro físico, estou bem feliz! Animada para começar a leitura.
Isadora Lobo
Reviewed in Brazil on August 30, 2021
Images in this review - Jatin JJReviewed in India on August 29, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Hell is other people. A great novel by Jean Paul Sartre
Imagine yourself on the brink of existentialism. You exist, and the revelation of your existence never leaves the stillness of your life reminds you of it by the passing moment. We all exist but not everyone is consumed by the realisation of existence. Stillness of the life, solitude often reminds one of him breathing and then he gasps and demands for a reason. As, the stillness is all but tolerable..
I purchased the novel at the moment while I go through the biggest existential crisis.
Talking about the Novel now, I haven't read it completely. Will take some time but I can tell you that it's worth buying. No flashy characters, the protagonists goes through the stillness and the stillness allows him to discount such questions, which a distracted person. A person, with a illusion to spare never has to go through..
Edit - 1
I have read the novel entirely, and I will recommend you to add it your reading list.
Paper quality is good. Font, spacing is good too.
Jatin JJ
Reviewed in India on August 29, 2024
I purchased the novel at the moment while I go through the biggest existential crisis.
Talking about the Novel now, I haven't read it completely. Will take some time but I can tell you that it's worth buying. No flashy characters, the protagonists goes through the stillness and the stillness allows him to discount such questions, which a distracted person. A person, with a illusion to spare never has to go through..
Edit - 1
I have read the novel entirely, and I will recommend you to add it your reading list.
Paper quality is good. Font, spacing is good too.
Images in this review - silasReviewed in Germany on December 4, 2021
5.0 out of 5 stars Classic, what's there to say?
Just a great book, nothing much to say. If you want a good story, with some deep philosophical ideas, and a bit of existential dread, then read this.
The quality of the book is about what you expect with a paperback: Not too good, not too bad.
I think the covers on this version are quite nice looking, but that's just my preference.
Although there is a disclaimer: The foreword does contain some spoilers, and a bit too big for my taste. So if you don't want those, then just read it as an afterword or something. Apart from that, a great book.
- Emilio MakitaReviewed in Mexico on May 14, 2020
5.0 out of 5 stars Greta book. Decent Edition.
Great book and a decent Edition. This is a really easy to read starter book for anyone trying to figure out what Sartre is about.