Pehla Aadmi

The First Man is Camuss last novel. In a way, it is his autobiographical work. When Camus died in a car accident in 1960, the briefcase he was carrying contained the manuscript of this novel; largely incomplete and unrevised. Camuss wife had prevented its publication. Many years later, in 1993, after the death of her mother, Camuss daughter, Catherine, decided to publish The First Man without any revisions. Because Camuss notes on the manuscript while writing it and his instructions for changes were also published, this novel has proven to be an invaluable document for Camus researchers and a significant event in world literature. The First Man also silenced Camuss critics who argued that his creative potential had waned after The Plague. In The First Man, the forty-year-old protagonist, Jacques Carmery, searching for his father, takes a deep look at his past and reveals his deep desire to survive despite a life of deprivation. In this work, Camus creates a social history of poverty through autobiography. The novel is divided into two parts: The Search for the Father and The Son. The father the protagonist searches for, like Camuss father, was killed in World War I. Carmerys mother, being illiterate, deaf, reticent, and silently suffering torture, hinders his search for his father, just as Camuss mothers nature hindered his real life. The novels title, The First Man, has been a topic of discussion. Who is this first manthe father, the son, the Algerian, the Frenchman, the Arab, or any other poor man whose death erases all trace, leaving nothing behind? This novel will inspire you to find that answer. Translated into nearly every language in the world, this novel has been translated directly from French into Hindi by Dr. Sharad Chandra.