The Myth of Sisyphus

A meditation on suicide.

In this influential collection of essays, Nobel Prize–winning writer Albert Camus confronts one of philosophy’s most urgent questions: whether life is worth living in a universe that appears to lack order or meaning.

Drawing inspiration from figures like Don Juan and the unsettling worlds of Franz Kafka, Camus begins with a stark meditation on suicide and the problem of existence. From there, he develops his concept of the “absurd”—the tension between humanity’s search for meaning and a silent, indifferent universe.

Written with clarity and lyrical intensity, The Myth of Sisyphus stands as a defining statement of twentieth-century existential thought, ultimately arguing that even in the face of absurdity, life can be embraced with defiance and purpose.