Tomorrow It Will Rain Over Bouville

Part Un

I must not have slept well last at all night. As, shepherded by the bleating of my alarm I stumbled dumbly into consciousness; and remained all but dead to the world for most of the morning. It took three cups of strong coffee with sugar, and a snickers flapjack to give me strength enough to break through the barrier of drowsiness and regain the use of my senses.

The caffeine induced high did have some side effects, namely an urge TO DO EVERYTHING NOW “GIVE IT HERE I’LL FIX IT NOW GO AWAY AND FETCH ME A COFFEE…biatch” - and I don’t think I blinked for the best part of an hour.

It will be unsurprising then, for me to state that the day seemed to pass quickly, mercifully so, as my thoughts never strayed too far away from sleep, my bed, sex (can’t help it, I’m a man), and sleep again.

Hmm - Sorry I was just thinking about err (don’t say sex) sex…Goddamit! Moving on.

Yes, the day came and went without incident. The minutes giving way to hours, which blurred, merged together in to one generic mass of absurdity; that has already joined the countless other forgotten ‘nothing days’ that have taken too much of my life up. That said - I did manage to lose my phone and cut myself with a bread knife (twice), so the day hasn’t been totally without incident.

In other news, I finished reading Nausea by Jen Paul-Sartre a few days ago and have finally gotten around to start writing a review, which shall be bolted on to the end of this entry sometime tomorrow.

Unfortunately General Procrastination got his grubby little paws on me and having finally escaped, I realise that it is now too late to finish my review.

Au Revoir.

Part Deux

Nausea is presented as a series of diary entries that offer the reader a look into the world of Antoine Roquentin. A gentleman in his thirties who, after apparently extensive travels, has settled in a fictional coastal town called Bouville (France). Wherein he plans to complete his research on a Monsieur de Rolleban, the intended subject of the book Antoine is writing.

Everything begins to change for Antoine upon the onset of what he describes as the nausea, an affliction that drastically alters his perception of himself and the world around him. The nausea appears seemingly randomly, forcing Antoine to question amongst other things, his own existence, the relationship between himself and his environment and even the nature of time. Eventually creating in him such disgust for existence that he very nearly loses his sanity.

Unsurprisingly existentialist themes are central to the setting and progression of the plot, and as such can be read as a work of philosophy as much as it can be a novel. Which is why I picked it up in the first place, having had my interest in philosophy; existentialism in particular, grow in recent years. However, I will leave the philosophy to one side at this stage; mainly because procrastination has yet again dragged out the process of writing, which is now intruding on my sleeping time – and in this state I would not do it justice.

My favourite element of the story is the character of Anny, Antoine’s ex-love whom he refers to with fondness throughout the book, and eventually meets once more in Paris. Anny as a character is fascinating, but the relationship between the two even more so.

I really love this book, but realise because of its philosophical ideas it will not appeal to everyone. I would however recommend it to anybody that likes to be challenged, or would appreciate the psychological study of Antoine as the Nausea begins to alter his mind.