Book Review: The Sea Close By by Albert Camus

Title: The Sea Close By
Author: Albert Camus
Genre: Essays
Publisher: Penguin
Publication Date: 1st August 2013
Goodreads Summary: Part of the Penguin Classics campaign celebrating 100 years of Albert Camus, The Sea Close By reveals the writer as a sensual witness of landscapes, the sea and sailing. It is a light, summery day-dream.

Accompanying The Sea Close By is the essay Summer in Algiers, a lovesong to his Mediterranean childhood.

The Sea Close By Book Review

Albert Camus is one of France’s most famous writers and author of L’Etranger or The Stranger. He was a French Algerian philosopher and author known for writing “absurdist” fictional philosophy.

The Sea Close By is certainly not one of his most notable works but it is definitely one worth picking up if you are a fan of French literature or Camus.

At only 22 pages long, The Sea Close By is a short and sweet read. This edition is a collection of two essays by Camus: The Sea Close By and Summer in Algiers.

The former is about the sea whilst the latter is about the city and so these two essays complement each other very well in this short collection.

The Sea Close By is an absolutely beautiful little book with quote after quote after quote that will make your heart swell.

“Space and silence weigh equally upon the heart. A sudden love, a great work, a decisive act, a thought which transfigures, all these at certain moments bring the same unbearable anxiety, linked with an irresistible charm.”

The Sea Close By, Albert Camus

I often found myself reread lines to ensure I had grasped Camus’ meaning and the intricacies of his work. This didn’t bother me in the slightest as the way the author expresses himself in The Sea Close By is just sublime.

In order to truly appreciate this piece of work, you have to read this slowly and carefully so as not to miss one single metaphor. It’s the sort of writing that you really want to savour.

Whilst reading this, I felt like I had been transported to another world because Camus descriptions are so real and so beautiful.

For me, The Sea Close By was a case of style over substance. I don’t feel that these works had a particular aim or purpose other than for Camus to put his thoughts down, and my, what beautiful thoughts.

Both of these essays are observations, not stories, so you’re really just following a trail of thought.

All in all, this little book contains a mere 22 pages of the most beautiful writing you’ll ever read.

If you’re the sort that likes to highlight or mark their favourite passages then you’re doing to find yourself with one incredibly dog eared little booklet once you’ve finished this. It will be hard to pick your favourite passages and not simply highlight the whole novel!

“Alone also with the horizon. The waves come from the invisible East, patiently, one by one; they reach us, and then, patiently, set off again for the unknown West, one by one. A long voyage, with no beginning and no end. . . .”

The Sea Close By, Albert Camus

The Sea Close By is a lovely little booklet that one could spend a summer afternoon devouring. It’s also the sort of book that you can pick up time and time again, flick to a random page, read a random passage and just sigh at the beauty of life. Highly recommended.

The Sea Close By is available on: Amazon

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