When I heard the President was reading Camus, I hoped against hope that he'd picked up The Rebel, or was at least giving consideration to the philosopher's short and provocative essay, The Unbeliever. Alas, Mr. Bush's choice was predictable: The Stranger. I have to confess that although I am an unabashed admirer of Camus's writing, the general public consumption of this short novel has always made me a little batty. I really wish it was read with greater care -- adolescent males, in particular, seem to take all the wrong messages from it.
Link from Maud Newton.
4 comments:
At first reading, I did the SCOK (Spit Coffee on Keyboard). Then, after careful consideration of the mind that is G.W. Bush, I'm sure our esteemed Prez thought it was a travel-related book that would help him get into the mind of a person travelling in the land of the Arab.
What do you want to bet that he needed to call in his trusted advisors to figure out how to pronounce Camus?
Nevermind "Albert".
The ever-brilliant Billmon summed up Bush's Book Club with this:
Bush: So what's it about, Antonio?
Blair: Well, this guy kills this Arab and then he...
Bush: Sounds like one of Clancy's books. Can I borrow your copy?
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