World news and discussion on TalkFuse.
The French existentialist novel that Ethel Cain and Robert Smith agree is “unmatched”
Ethel Cain and Robert Smith have both praised Jean-Paul Sartre’s novel *Nausea*, finding a shared interest in its depiction of isolation and the uneasy experience of existence. Cain says she thinks of the book when ordinary surroundings begin to feel unreal, while Smith has described Sartre’s account of the human condition as unmatched.
Published in 1938, *Nausea* follows Antoine Roquentin, an isolated man keeping a diary in the fictional town of Bouville as he works on a biography. His growing “Nausea” makes familiar people and objects seem strange and leads him to question his existence. Cain has said she may not explore existentialism further for now, while Smith discussed the novel in a 2003 interview with French magazine Rock & Folk.
In short
- Ethel Cain and Robert Smith both admire Sartre’s *Nausea*.
- Cain links its themes to moments of feeling detached from reality.
- Smith called Sartre’s description of the human condition unmatched.
Explained simply
Jean-Paul Sartre was a French writer and philosopher whose work explored freedom, isolation and what it means to exist. His 1938 novel Nausea follows Antoine Roquentin, a man living alone in the fictional town of Bouville and researching a historical figure.
As Roquentin keeps a diary, everyday people and objects begin to seem unfamiliar, prompting him to question his place in the world. The novel is associated with existentialism, a philosophical movement concerned with human existence and the choices people make.