Sat, Oct 11, 1997
The grand themes of Albert Camus' work and life are documented in three chapters: the Absurd, Revolt, and Happiness. His novels The Stranger, The Plague, The Rebel, The Fall and The First Man are all discussed, as well as his childhood in French Algeria, sometimes difficult friendships, role in The Resistance during WWII, 1957 Nobel Prize, his issues with Communism, living in exile in the '50s, and his accidental death at 47. His life is spoken about by the narrator, his sister-in-law, his son, his daughter, friends, critics, scholars and mistresses. The impression is of Camus as a charismatic, flawed, and yet principled man when it came to the task of confronting human existence without conforming.
Wed, Feb 19, 1992
After a 14 year dry spell, novelist, Barbara Pym (Patricia Routledge) is nominated for a Booker Award in 1977 for her novel "Quartet in Autumn". This short biography follows her the day of the prize presentation, as she observes people and reminisces about life and love. The prize is awarded to someone else that year, and in 1980 Pym dies of cancer.