A great book raises many questions

It's easy to get lost in Albert Camus's short novel The Stranger. At just a little over 100 pages, one can easily finish it in one sitting. That's what I did actually, this morning when I couldn't go to work.

The Stranger is the kind of book that, as soon as you close it, several profound questions pop up in your head. First, the title. Why title it as The Stranger, when it clearly is about Meursault, a man thrown into the spotlight when he commits an unexplicable act of murder.

Meursault, whom I'll label as our novel's hero for lack of a better term, shoots an Arab one sunny day on a beach midpoint in the novel. When he's asked by the judge for his reason, he just said it's because of the sun. WTF?

The Stranger is a kind of novel that lets you dig deeper, forcing you to "read between the lines" if you will. Perhaps it's Meursault's enigmatic nature that makes the reader feel that he doesn't understand the novel's protagonist at all.

Yes, it's a bit of a challenge deciphering Meursault's reasons for his actions. In the first part of the novel, the reader is informed that his mother has died in a home for the elderly. Why does Meursault refuse to see his mother in a casket? Has he reached a point of being unfeeling toward his parent? The novel doesn't clearly state his rationale. And this is one of the reasons the book will make for a good discussion.

Also, why does Meursault refuse to show any deeper feelings toward the woman he's seeing. He appears to enjoy his company. When he's asked if he loves her or if he wants to marry her, he tells her no. But later on, he thinks that he probably doesn't have any real objection to him being wed to her.

In the last few pages of The Stranger, Meursault is sentenced to be beheaded. Naturally, a priest goes to him during his last remaining hours. And what does our Meursault do? Why he laughs in the face of the priest and throws him out! He feels that everything doesn't matter at this point.

The Stranger is a kind of novel that requires introspection. Reading the final page doesn't complete the reading experience. It forces you to question, to think, to rationalize. And that I think is a hallmark of a great book by a truly gifted writer.

Read this book if:

1. You like your novels short but pithy.
2. You're into philosophical novels.
3. You'll read anything by someone who has won the Nobel Prize.

Being consoled by 6 philosophers

I've always dreaded meeting a philosopher. The thought of conversing with one is my personal version of hell. I keep picturing myself with my eyes glazing as I listen to the philosopher ramble on and on and on about the meaning (or lack thereof) of life. This scene ends with me throwing myself on the cliff, frustrated by my apparent lack of understanding of anything that issued forth from the philosopher's mouth.

And this is why I like Alain de Botton. He makes philosophy accessible. Read any of his books and you'll see what I mean. In The Consolations of Philosophy, he introduces us to 6 philosophers and how they can help us with our lives. It's a wonderful idea but I assume hard to pull off, as most of these philosophers seldom agree with one another.

Instead of offering us a sweeping scope of philosophical thought, de Botton narrows in on 6 problematic life areas (unpopularity, not having enough money, frustration, inadequacy, a broken heart, and difficulties) and finds a suitable philosopher who can offer a solution for each. The resulting book is brilliant, one that provides a brief account of the philosopher's life and his work, and coupled with lots of anecdotal records.

Okay, let's start with the first. Are you concerned about being unpopular? Fret not, Socrates can help you. This is a bit of an irony, as Socrates was condemned to death by a jury of his peers. In this part, the classical philosopher somehow tells you that it's not the opinion of the people that count but rather the experts.

The philosopher offered us a way out of two powerful delusions: that we should always or never listen to the dictates of public opinion.
To follow his example, we will best be rewarded if we strive instead to listen always to the dictates of reason. [page 42]

Don't have enough money? Well, look to Epicurus. Yes, Epicurus, the philosopher whose reputation is for getting the finer things in life. Apparently, this isn't true at all. Epicurus advocated the acquisition of the simple things in life. To be happy, all one needs is to acquire friendship, freedom, and thought. Now knowing this has already put a smile to my face. Everyone can "afford" these acquisitions!

If you easily get frustrated, Seneca advises us not be too hopeful. Don't think that the loud noise your neighbor makes is intentional, that he's out to annoy you. No, your neighbor is just noisy, and that's the first step to not getting frustrated. Trust that your neighbor knows nothing of you.

Are you feeling inadequate? Don't, just read Montaigne. He tells us to open our minds and not be discouraged. All you really need to do is just make yourself clever.

In Montaigne's redrawn portrait of the adequate, semi-rational human being, it is possible to speak no Greek, fart, change one's mind after a meal, get bored with books, know none of the ancient philosophers and mistake Scipios.
A virtuous, ordinary life, striving for wisdom but never far from folly, is achievement enough. [page 168]

Schopenhauer, probably the most pessimistic of all philosophers, is the one de Botton turns to for the broken hearted. Schopenhauer argues that we shouldn't be surprised at all if we find misery sometimes. And (hold on to your partners for this bit, everyone), the person who will make the perfect match for us is seldom the one who will make us happy.

And last, Nietzsche tells us that to come up with creations of beauty and brilliance, we shouldn't be afraid of difficulties at all. Instead of being envious that someone wrote an intelligent novel and despairing that we'll never write anything as brilliant, we need to look at all those revisions that went with the work. And it also helps to know if this writer whom we're envious went through several rejections before writing his masterpiece.

I absolutely enjoyed The Consolations of Philosophy. The writing style of de Botton is engaging, as if he's writing a self-help book instead of one filled with very lofty philosophical ideas. In a way, The Consolations of Philosophy is indeed self-help. After all, who wouldn't want to be consoled by 6 of the most intelligent men who have lived on this planet, no?

Read this book if:

1. You've always been curious but intimidated by philosophy.
2. You want to know how the word Epicurean came from.
3. You love eccentric, intelligent, dead guys.

Don't let the cover deceive you

First, this isn't really a hardcore love story, despite the screaming red cover. Second, being a work by Alain de Botton, it's more of a philosophical discourse than fiction.

While de Botton does present a male (the unnamed narrator) and a female (Chloe) character, he simply makes use of these characters as evidence, if you will, of what happens when two people have a connection and fall in love.

In the book, we examine why people are inexplicably drawn to one another, go through the motions of a relationship, have trivial and significant arguments, drift away, cheat on one another, and sometimes fall out of love. The chapters are something like theses on love and its many aspects -- intimacy, seduction, and even 'romantic terrorism'.

Love had to be appreciated without flight into dogmatic optimism or pessimism, without constructing a philosophy of one's fears, or a morality of one's disappointments. Love taught the analytic mind a certain humility, the lesson that however it struggled to reach immobile certainties (numbering its conclusions and embedding them in neat series), analysis could never be anything but flawed -- and therefore never stray far from the ironic. [page 194]

This slim work of 'fiction', the debut of Alain de Botton, is not to be missed. While some of the sections may make your eyes glaze over, the novel's ideas about this complex emotion are fascinating to read.

Philosophy lite

Every once in a while, I crave for something high falutin, something that will make my head spin and make me realize (further) how little I know. And if there's one subject that never fails to instill a feeling of mental inadequacy, it's philosophy.

I don't get Schopenhauer. I have no idea what Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra was all about after I finished it. I find Foucault's work esoteric, to say the least. Aristotle and Socrates are a blur.

Thank goodness for Alain de Botton! He's managed to make philosophy very interesting and relevant. I've discovered his works just this year, after braving a few minutes at the Philosophy section in the bookstore. To say that de Botton's works are accessible would be an understatement, for I've devoured his books in just a few hours.

So yes, I am loving the de Botton lately. His books have managed to surprise me with their practicality. I never knew that philosophy touches several aspects of one's life -- from travel, to the workplace, to one's reading choices, and even to architecture.

I can't wait to share my thoughts on each of de Botton's work to you, dear reader. Stay tuned!