The Fall

Jean-Baptiste Clamence is a soul in turmoil. Over several drunken nights he regales a chance acquaintance with his story. From this successful former lawyer and seemingly model citizen a compelling, self-loathing catalogue of guilt, hypocrisy and alienation pours forth. `The Fall` (1956) is a brilliant portrayal of a man who has glimpsed the hollowness of his existence. But beyond depicting one man`s disillusionment, Camus`s novel exposes the universal human condition and its absurdities - and our innocence that, once lost, can never be recaptured.