''The First Man'' (french: Le Premier homme) is

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( , ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His work ...

' unfinished final novel. On January 4, 1960, at the age of forty-six, Camus died in a car accident. The incomplete manuscript of ''The First Man'', the

autobiographical novel An autobiographical novel is a form of novel using autofiction techniques, or the merging of autobiographical and fictive elements. The literary technique is distinguished from an autobiography or memoir by the stipulation of being fiction. ...

Camus was working on at the time of his death, was found in the mud at the accident site. Camus' daughter, Catherine Camus, later transcribed the handwritten manuscript to type press, and published the book in 1994. Camus hoped that it would be his masterpiece and some critics agreed with his view, even in its unfinished state – largely citing the physical intensity and uninhibited psychology of boyhood as removed from the reservedness of Camus' other novels.

Plot summary

The novel takes Jacques Cormery from birth to his years in the lycée, or secondary school, in

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

. In a departure from the intellectual and philosophical weight of his earlier works, Camus wanted this novel to be "heavy with things and flesh." It is a novel of basic and essential things: childhood, schooldays, the life of the body, the power of the sun and the sea, the painful love of a son for his mother, the search for a lost father. But it is also about the history of a colonial people in a vast and not always hospitable African landscape, about the complex relationship of a "mother" country to its colonists, and about the intimate effects of war as well as political revolution.

Characters

* Jacques Cormery – The main protagonist. He is raised in a poor home. * Catherine Cormery – Jacques's mother, who is "illiterate and largely deaf." Jacques loves her and visits her in his adulthood. * Pierre - Jacques's childhood friend who completes primary school and lycée by Jacques's side.

Film adaptation

A film adaptation of the novel, directed by

Gianni Amelio Gianni Amelio (born 20 January 1945) is an Italian film director. Early life Amelio was born in San Pietro di Magisano, province of Catanzaro, Calabria. His father moved to Argentina soon after his birth. He spent his youth and adolescence with ...

and starring

Jacques Gamblin Jacques Gamblin is a French actor. Life and career Jacques Gamblin is a French actor. He studied at the Centre dramatique de Caen (Caen Dramatic Arts Centre). Originally, Jacques Gamblin was not destined to act. As a professional technician ...

, was released in 2011.

References

1995 French novels French novels adapted into films Novels by Albert Camus French autobiographical novels Novels published posthumously Novels set in Algeria Unfinished novels Éditions Gallimard books {{1990s-novel-stub