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The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus: Summary & Analysis
- Narrated by: Kevin Theis
- Length: 30 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Classics
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Summary
This is a summary and analysis of "The Myth of Sisyphus". "The Myth of Sisyphus" is a 1942 philosophical essay by Albert Camus. The English translation by Justin O'Brien was first published in 1955.
In the essay, Camus introduces his philosophy of the absurd: man's futile search for meaning, unity, and clarity in the face of an unintelligible world devoid of God and eternal truths or values. Does the realization of the absurd require suicide? Camus answers: "No. It requires revolt." He then outlines several approaches to the absurd life. The final chapter compares the absurdity of man's life with the situation of Sisyphus, a figure of Greek mythology who was condemned to repeat forever the same meaningless task of pushing a boulder up a mountain, only to see it roll down again. The essay concludes, "The struggle itself [...] is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy."
The work can be seen in relation to other absurdist works by Camus: the novel The Stranger (1942), the plays The Misunderstanding (1942) and Caligula (1944), and especially the essay "The Rebel" (1951).
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What listeners say about The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus: Summary & Analysis
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Mike GMT
- 19-09-17
Interesting take on Sisyphus
It is just a short essay. I would have loved a more in-depth analysis. The reader doesn't help as he is putting too much patos.
1 person found this helpful
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- Alex Hunter
- 20-08-21
deceptive
why doesn't audible let you refund, I wanted the myth of Sisyphus yet get this which is half an hour long because I didn't read correctly.
Audible needs a refund feature for accidental buys.
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- Amazon Customer
- 31-03-21
interesting subject, but way too stort for 1credit
interesting subject, but way too stort for 1credit. Narrator was ok, got used to it, but a bit loud.
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- Anonymous User
- 08-06-20
Insightful
Concise and coherent summary, the analysis is well explained.
As someone who is only beginning to look into philosophy, it was a good place to start when looking at suicide.
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- Nze kkuc akabusi
- 03-04-18
Great Topic read to quickly to absorb
Great topic read to quickly to absorb in one sitting. Definitely requires familiarity with Camus and the myth in question but well worth the effort of listening a few times, which being so short is no hardship.
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- John Ciccariello
- 18-04-18
interesting
just a summary, but interesting. read reviews. it give an interesting look. but I wish it was the essay itself.
2 people found this helpful
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- Dranath Brown
- 29-06-20
Great content/terrible Narration
The material here is excellent however Kevin Theis barks at you like like he's trying to sell you mattresses.
Camus would not approve.
1 person found this helpful
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- Ian Seale
- 01-08-18
Pretty accurate
Nice primer for those somehow finding themselves a bit lost in the actual text. My only criticism is it's to short, ie. not enough depth. Then again if you wanted that you would just read the actual book. But it isn't on audible... damn learning disabilities
1 person found this helpful
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- HH
- 17-03-17
Comprehensive Overview and Detailed Analysis
Very helpful summary and analysis for me. I had to read The Myth of Sisyphus for school, so I checked to see if there was an audio summary of it. Great narration by Kevin Theis. I've heard this book by Albert Camus is a slog to get through, so I was happy to get this instead and get the key takeaways.
5 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 25-05-21
Not the full text
It's not the full text, only a summary and the only available version of it in the platform.
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- Amazon Customer
- 02-08-18
Easy starting point
Very basic breakdown and understanding done in a nice way. Very quick introduction to Camus
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- Grant
- 16-03-17
This is not the story of Sisyphus, just a review of the story
Don't be fooled, this is not what you are looking for if you are actually trying to get the story of Sisyphus in audio version
10 people found this helpful
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- Charlie Harris
- 27-04-17
Just a summary by the author
If you're looking for the actual book, this is just a summary! I missed that when buying on mobile and it was a waste of an Audible credit...
4 people found this helpful
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- stephen scott
- 01-02-19
Just a bunch of opinions. No facts were used.
it's hard to believe anything that is not supported with facts this book wasn't good