Man's Fate (La Condition Humaine)

By André Malraux and Malraux

Book Overview

As explosive and immediate today as when it was originally published in 1933, Man's Fate (La Condition Humaine), an account of a crucial episode in the early days of the Chinese Revolution,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679725741
• ISBN13: 9780679725749
• Release Date: February 1990
• Publisher: Vintage
• Length: 356 Pages
• Weight: 0.67 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.9" x 0.9" x 5.1"

Customer Reviews

Man's fate

I read the "Shanghai station" before and found this book mentioned in the appendix. This is a much better story. Tells very realistic the pre-revolutionary struggle in Shanghai, the conditions under which the local population lives. The state of Shanghai with it's international, foreign, colonial part. The desparation of the people. This book is very fascinating, however paints a somehow somber, depressing picture.

This book is a must and a classic !!

This is a reference among Malraux's writings, because it describes perfectly his own obsessions. Malraux has traveled a lot, and has experienced a lot of different concepts, and a lot of different situations.He started by exporting stolen antiques in Thailand, and spent some time in prison there. He was a convinced communist, and went to several countries, where revolution were occuring in the 50s. He finally became a ministry of Charles de Gaulles, who is the symbol of liberal people in France. His ashes were recently transfered to the Pantheon by Jacques Chirac, as an acknowledge to his work, as a writer, and as a politician.Malraux loved to build his books around historical situations, where it appeared clearly they were made by individual contributions.This also might be one of Malraux's obsessions. Where does the individual stands in a nation. What importance should be given to the collective organism when it has to be opposed to the interests of a particular individual ?During his life, Malraux seems to have explored all the range of possibilities, moving from a concept to another. La Condition humaine really shows all the ambiguity of this duality Collective/Individual.Some characters are folded up on themselves, and might represent the extreme individuality, some other die for the good of an idea, and might represent the collectivity. But at the end of the book, no one has achieved to find the Answer.If you would like to learn about the French culture, I would highly recommend this book, for three reasons. First Malraux did a lot of interesting things at the end of the 60's, as a ministry of culture, and so impacted the current French culture. Second, the duality between collective / individual is something that perfectly describes France itself, and is the heart of the current situation of this country. And third, the book itself is really well written, and a pleasure to read.

Malraux reaching the deepest in a century

Being a French student, I have been able to read the French text. Hence, I find it quite difficult to comment the style, since "tradutore traditore". However, I would like to insist on the philosophical content of the book. Of course, it still remains plain litterature and therefore cannot be compared to a full philosophical work. Malraux reaches the deepest essence in the XXth century : every character is fleeing his own existence, indulging in drug addiction and contemplation, or in political action. Who really overcomes his condition ? Can it be said ok Kyo : this is doubtful. The absurd dimension in the book must not neglected : the pitiful diplomatic negociation of Ferrat close the book, while the old Gisors engulfes in the blackest of nights, the same one that Tchen, in the very first pages, had vainly tempted to overcome. It is of course, the vnity of human engagements that appears, which already evokes Malraux's elvolution.