Man's Fate (original 1933; edition 1961)

The book that made Malraux famous. A story of revolution, and the endurance of humanity in the most despairing and inhumane conditions. The kind of story that's needed, now more than ever.

There's a good book in here somewhere. Some of the scenes are incredibly vivid, but much is lost in translation. The prose is clunky, and some explosive scenes are ruined by bad phrasing.

Very frustrating - this is the sort of thing that makes me want to learn French. Ah well.

Recommended for die-hard revolutionaries, and Francophones. ( )

sono costretta a metterlo da parte per ora anche se non l'ho ancora finito. non c'e' più tempo :-(

Outre l'irréductible échéance liée à la mort, outre les multiples et indicibles souffrances, n'est-il pas donné à tous de choisir son destin ? Certes la vie est tragique mais elle doit avoir un sens. Un sens, peut-être des sens, mais seuls quelques-uns aux vertus salvatrices s'offrent aux hommes pour les affranchir de leur condition. La Révolution, au nom d'une foi en la fraternité, est une arme tournée contre la misère, celle qui enchaîne l'homme parce qu'elle le prive de sa dignité. Vaincre l'humiliation en leur nom propre ou pour les autres par le biais de la Révolution, voici le combat que se sont choisis les héros de La Condition humaine. Pour échapper à l'angoisse de 'n'être qu'un homme', l'amour est un autre de ces moyens, mais seul l'amour véritable et fusionnel qu'éprouvent Kyo et May l'un pour l'autre est susceptible de briser la profonde solitude des êtres. Misérable humanité, humanité héroïque et grandiose, c'est 'la condition humaine'... Elle résonnera à jamais comme un écho au fond de soi, tant il est vrai que ce roman est 'd'une intelligence admirable et, malgré cela, profondément enfoncé dans la vie, engagé, et pantelant d'une angoisse parfois insoutenable', comme l'avait écrit Gide. --Lenaïc Gravis et Jocelyn Blériot

IN PROGRESS

"The sons of torture victims make good terrorists." ( )

Re-read September, 2010.

I can see why I was so enthusiastic about this book 30 years ago. The archetypes Malraux creates have stuck with me: Kyo, the idealist; his father, Old Gisors, the world-weary professor; May, the self-sacrificing wife of Kyo; Katov, the true believer; Hemmelrich, the longsuffering family man; Ferral, the political businessman; Clappique, the clown; and especially Ch'en, the driven man of action.

Ch'en is a tortured soul who has overcome his Christian upbringing with a commitment to action. He feels religion has inhibited him and in the end, action frees him. This is the part of the book I recalled most vividly, because I saw myself in him.

In fact, I was so focused on the characters that I passed over the philosophical parts of the book.

Perhaps Malraux wouldn't mind, though. He's sending his philosophical message through his characters. As he says of Old Gisors: "[His] penetration had its source in the fact that he recognized elements of his own personality in those he spoke to, and that one could have made the most subtle portrait of him by piecing together his examples of perspicacity." ( )