02 November 2013, The Tablet

Stranger than fiction

by Julius Purcell

Christianity and the existentialist

 
Albert Camus was one of the twentieth century’s greatest writers, remembered for his existentialism and a seeming rejection of God. Yet, a century on from his birth, study of his work shows a man fascinated by Christ and impressed by sacrifice and solidarity In an online “Index” of book reviews, written for the edification of members of Opus Dei, all the major novels of Albert Camus are extensively evaluated. Opus Dei insists the reviews do not represent an official line, yet, written in Spanish, they are nevertheless of interest for their stark division into literary and moral value. Camus’ first novel, The Outsider, is praised for its “limpid, exact style”, but gets a moral drubbing for its “calculated rejection of God and eternal life”.
Get Instant Access

Continue Reading


Register for free to read this article in full


Subscribe for unlimited access

From just £30 quarterly

  Complete access to all Tablet website content including all premium content.
  The full weekly edition in print and digital including our 179 years archive.
  PDF version to view on iPad, iPhone or computer.

Already a subscriber? Login



User Comments (2)

Comment by: Sara Bhattacharji
Posted: 06/08/2015 01:47:04

I agree that language is becoming a problem that stops real dialogue. I think that vested interest groups,who I suspect are fearful of having their positions questioned, purposely subvert language so that the real issues will not be discussed.

Comment by: I'm not a robot
Posted: 04/08/2015 03:42:43

It is absolutely essential that all people be uniformly impoverished--except members of the clergy of course.