Albert Camus The Fall
THE FALL
A Novel by
ALBERT CAMUS
Translated by JUSTIN O'BRIEN
VINTAGE BOOKS
A Division of Random House
NEW YORK
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Albert Camus The Fall
© Copyright, 1956, by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in New York
by Random House, Inc., and in Toronto, Canada, by Random House of Canada, Limited.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number:
57-5652 ISBN 0-394-70223-9
Originally published in France as La Chute.
Copyright, 1956, by Librairie Gallimard
Reprinted by arrangement with Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
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Albert Camus The Fall
Some were dreadfully insulted, and quite seriously, to have held up as a model such an immoral character as
A Hero of Our T i me; others shrewdly noticed that the author had portrayed himself and his
acquaintances. ... A H e r o o f O u r T i m e, gentlemen, is in fact a portrait, but not of an individual; it
is the aggregate of the vices of our whole generation in their fullest expression.
-LERMONTOV
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Albert Camus The Fall
The Fall
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Albert Camus The Fall
MAY I, monsieur, offer my services without running the risk of intruding? I fear you may not be
able to make yourself understood by the worthy ape who presides over the fate of this
establishment. In fact, he speaks nothing but Dutch. Unless you authorize me to plead your case, he
will not guess that you want gin. There, I dare hope he understood me; that nod must mean that he
yields to my arguments. He is taking steps; indeed, he is making haste with prudent deliberation.
You are lucky; he didn't grunt. When he refuses to serve someone, he merely grunts. No one insists.
Being master of one's moods is the privilege of the larger animals. Now I shall withdraw, monsieur,
happy to have been of help to you. Thank you; I'd accept if I were sure of not being a nuisance. You
are too kind. Then I shall bring my glass over beside yours.
You are right. His silence is deafening. It's the silence of the primeval forest, heavy with threats.
At times I am amazed by his obstinacy in snubbing [4] civilized languages. His business consists in
entertaining sailors of all nationalities in...

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