In this profound and moving philosophical statement, Camus poses the  fundamental question: Is life worth living? If human existence holds no  significance, what can keep us from suicide?

As Camus argues,  if there is no God to give meaning to our lives, humans must take on  that purpose themselves. This is our absurd task, like Sisyphus  forever rolling his rock up a hill, as the inevitability of death  constantly overshadows us. Written during the bleakest days of the  Second World War, The Myth of Sisyphus argues for an acceptance of  reality that encompasses revolt, passion and, above all, liberty.
This  volume contains several other essays, including lyrical evocations of  the sunlit cities of Algiers and Oran, the settings of his great novels The Outsider and The Plague.

Albert  Camus is the author of a number of best-selling and highly influential  works, all of which are published by Penguin. They include The Fall, The Outsider and The First Man. He is remembered as one of the few writers  to have shaped the intellectual climate of post-war France, but beyond  that, his fame has been international.

Translated by Justin OBrien
With an Introduction by James Wood