NAUSEA
by Jean-Paul Sartre · first published 1938
60% recommend40% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Existential novel that readers pair with Camus and Hesse; some say it eased their existential anxiety and gave them a new way to think about meaning. Suits readers who want philosophy in fiction form.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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Nausea by Sartre. It resolved my existential crisis. Well worth the read, great literature
on “Ask HN: What are some of the great books that you have read?” ↗The Stranger by Camus. Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre. The Prince by Machiavelli. Categories by Aristotle.
on “Ask HN: Life Changing Books?” ↗…Hegel - Phenomenology of Spirit Hegel - Logic von Kleist - Marionette Theatre Kierkegaard - The Sickness Unto Death Heidegger - Being and Time Sartre - Being and Nothingness Sartre - Flies Sartre - Nausea Deleuze - Difference and Repetition Kafka - Metamorphosis Kafka - The Castle Lem - Magellan Nebula Lem - His Master's Voice Cioran - A Short History of Decay Pessoa - Book Of Despair Wolfe -…
on “Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?” ↗…the world then? Broadbent: Of course. Dont you? Keegan (from the very depths of his nature): No. The Outsider is a gateway into existential literature which is especially illuminated by Sartre's Nausea and Hesse's Siddhartha and Steppenwolf. These are all great books to read both for pleasure and as wayposts to help us find a centre for our own minds. Colin Wilson concludes The Outsider with a recommendation…
on “Can a Wandering Mind Make You Neurotic?” ↗…nor my concern whether or not you pass on your particular genes, I just can't resist this discussion. Related reading if you're interested: Albert Camus (The Stranger, The Myth of Sisyphus), Sartre (Nausea, Being and Nothingness)
on “An Awesome Book” ↗…everywhere in large quantities are fashioning the world for the better (as Sartre did with regards to communism). But for the more bleak outlook that is quite more common, you can read Sartre's own "Nausea" to see how the ideas as described in "E.I.A.H" can play into everyday life. Even the title of the novel ("sea sickness" -- meant about the absurdity of life, is telling). The angst/anxiety etc. is more…
on “Who Was Kafka?” ↗…after you finish you still have time to unwind your day (without having to worry about having to read books). edit: for fiction I recommend the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, any of the Murakami books, Nausea by Sartre, or Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance. For non-fiction: I recommend picking any topic you're interested in. Skip the biographies and self-help/guide books, they'll only guilt trip…
on “Ask HN: How much do you read and what do you get from it?” ↗Nausea, J.-P. Sartre
on “Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?” ↗…The Social Contract (Rousseau), Tao Te Ching (Laozi), Brothers Karamazov (Dostoevsky), History of the Peloponnesian War (Thucydides) Newer Stuff: Nine Stories (Salinger), The Razor's Edge (Maugham), Nausea (Sartre), Siddartha (Hesse), Road to Serfdom (Hayek), The Book (Watts), Design of Everyday Things (Norman), Atlas Shrugged (Rand), Invisible Man (Ellison), Debunking Economics (Keen), Blood Meridian (McCarthy),…
on “Ask HN: What books do you wish your manager would read?” ↗Sartre's "Nausea", which demonstrates the pointless nothingness of life, so one should not get too stressed out at work because Frank doesn't like your indentation style but that's how everyone at university does it ...
on “Ask HN: What three books impacted your career the most?” ↗Nausea by Sartre. I used to really struggle with existential anxiety, and still do to some degree. That book took away much of that concern, it gave me a new way to think about meaning in life
on “Ask HN: What was the one book that you read and it actually changed your life?” ↗I know it's subjective, but personally I think Nausea by Sartre is the much better "The Stranger", and it always saddens me a bit to see Camus so high up on every list while missing Sartre.
on “Books of the Century by Le Monde” ↗Sartre's Nausea and Hesse's Steppenwolf tackles this theme beautifully.
on “NASA announces discovery of Earth-like planet with earth similarity index 0.98” ↗Sartre's Nausea
on “Ask HN: Which book do you keep asking people to read?” ↗Sartre's Nausea
on “Ask HN: What are the best books you've ever read?” ↗