192 pages, Paperback
First published July 1,1968
The concept of a "serious master of absurdity" might seem paradoxical at first glance. However, upon closer examination, it reveals a fascinating and complex figure.
This individual is not one to simply engage in random or senseless acts of absurdity. Instead, they approach it with a deep sense of purpose and intention.
They have the ability to see the hidden absurdities in the world around us, those that often go unnoticed by others. Through their work, whether it be in art, literature, or performance, they bring these absurdities to the forefront, challenging our perceptions and making us question the status quo.
The serious master of absurdity is a master of subversion, using humor and irony to undermine traditional values and beliefs. They are not afraid to push the boundaries and explore the limits of what is considered acceptable.
In a world that often seems chaotic and unpredictable, the serious master of absurdity offers a unique perspective and a way to make sense of the nonsensical. Their work can be both entertaining and thought-provoking, leaving us with a newfound appreciation for the absurd.
Caut în amintire primele imagini ale tatei. I see dark colors. I think I was two years old. I am in the train. My mother is beside me. She has a big bag. My father is in front of me, beside the window. I don't see his face, I see his shoulders, I see his coat.
Suddenly, the tunnel.
One day, when my daughter was two years old - we lived on Claude-Terrasse Street - I walked along the long corridor of the house until the end to get to Regine's room, who was ill and whom my daughter loved very much. Regine was in bed. I was holding my daughter in my arms. We were talking to Regine, who was lying down, from the door frame. We wished her a light sleep. Then, before leaving, I turned off the light. Regine, along with the room, disappears into the darkness. My daughter starts to scream terrified, as if Regine, the bed, the furniture in the room had collapsed into nothingness.
Undoubtedly, shortly after the scene in the train: I think I can locate the memory in Paris, or in a nearby peripheral neighborhood, more likely in a nearby peripheral neighborhood.
It was a summer night. A sky full of stars.
H, who was tall, is walking holding me in his arms. There are several people around us. My father is talking to them. My mother is also present, I know this, but I don't see her. In my memory, I don't see his figure either. I look over his shoulder. We walk for a long time, it seems to me, for a long time, we pass along a fence.
The sky full of stars.
A dark room. The magic lantern. Someone (my father or mother) sits me alone on a small stool, closer to the screen. Behind me, big people. The owner of the house, a man with a big black beard, changes the images. Are there other small children beside me, on other stools? I think so. I can see very well one of the projected images: a boy is sitting at a table on which there is a big cat, with its tail in the air and all its fur tousled. The image is removed. I shout: "More!..." A certain astonishment around me. Was it the first word I pronounced?
Everything the description says about the book is indeed true. It is not just the best book of this year; perhaps it is the best book I've read in a whole year. His honest self-analysis and his profound thoughts about World War II, when juxtaposed against the Six-Day War in 1967, made me repeatedly ponder what Ionesco would say in today's context. Maybe I loved it so deeply because he seemed to be communicating directly with me and addressing my desires and my thoughts about the world. I also wondered, as he would name-drop Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, where was his mention of Camus and Celine? But this was merely a minor curiosity. You can definitely observe the strong correlation between Ionesco's heart and soul and his plays. If it is even conceivable, this has made me love and appreciate his plays even more. One should be aware, however, that this is not really a biography in the traditional, linear sense of cause-and-effect. Instead, it is mostly his reflections on what was happening around him at that particular time.