Best Existentialism

A sprawling, epic Western that redefined the genre. *Blood Meridian* follows the journey of a young man, Tim, as he joins a gang of scalp hunters in the American West, led by the enigmatic and terrifying Judge Holden. McCarthys masterful prose and unflinching depiction of violence and human depravit...

Søren Kierkegaard was a 19th-century Danish thinker whose work profoundly shaped Western philosophy. He explored themes of individual existence, subjective truth, and the relationship between faith and reason. His focus on personal experience and ethical decision-making influenced existentialist tho...

Søren Kierkegaard was a 19th-century Danish philosopher and theologian known for his explorations of subjective experience and individual existence. His work, particularly *Either/Or*, examines fundamental questions about faith, ethics, and the nature of choice. He is most relevant to those interest...

The Book of Disquiet is a work by Portuguese writer Fernando Pessoa, composed as a collection of fragmentary reflections attributed to the semi-autobiographical heteronym Bernardo Soares. Pessoa wrote the material over several decades, but the text remained disorganized at his death in 1935 and was...

While often classified as cyberpunk, its core themeswhat defines humanity when replicants are indistinguishable from humansmake it a foundational dystopian text. The film explores corporate control, manufactured life, and the blurring lines between organic and synthetic existence in a perpetually ra...

Albert Camuss *The Stranger* is a cornerstone of existentialist literature. Meursault, the protagonist, embodies the existentialist rejection of societal norms and religious beliefs, presenting a detached and seemingly indifferent perspective on life and death. Through its stark prose and unsettling...

Randle McMurphy is a central figure in Ken Kesey’s novel *One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest*. He represents a disruptive force within a mental institution, challenging its authority and prompting an examination of societal control. His rebellious spirit and insistence on human connection resonate with...

Apple TV+'s 'Severance' presents a chillingly plausible dystopian vision of corporate control and the fragmentation of identity. The series follows employees who undergo a procedure to sever their work memories from their personal lives. Its a powerful commentary on the dehumanizing aspects of moder...

Tyler Durden is a central figure in Fight Club, portrayed by Edward Norton. He represents a radical rejection of modern society’s values and a descent into violent anarchy. His character explores themes of identity, alienation, and the search for meaning through destructive behavior. He's notable a...

Molloy is a novel by Samuel Beckett, originally written in French and published in 1951. It is the first volume of a trilogy followed by 'Malone Dies' (1951) and 'The Unnamable' (1953). The novel is divided into two monologues: the first narrated by Molloy, who travels by bicycle in search of his mo...

Holden Caulfield is the protagonist of J.D. Salinger’s *The Catcher in the Rye*, a novel exploring teenage disillusionment following expulsion from Pencey Prep. His first-person narration captures a profound sense of isolation and critical judgment of adult hypocrisy. The character's struggle with i...

The Hour of the Star is the final novel by Brazilian author Clarice Lispector, published posthumously in 1977. The narrative follows Macabéa, a poor, uneducated migrant from northeastern Brazil living in Rio de Janeiro. Her life is recounted by a self-conscious male narrator, Rodrigo S.M., who const...

Set in Oran, Algeria during a devastating plague outbreak, Camuss *The Plague* explores themes of solidarity, responsibility, and the human response to suffering. The novel's characters grapple with questions of morality and purpose amidst chaos and death, mirroring existentialist concerns about con...

Cormac McCarthys magnum opus is arguably the definition of literary grit. It follows a group of scalp hunters in the brutal American frontier. The prose itself is stark, biblical, and relentlessly violent, depicting humanity stripped bare by necessity and savagery. It is a challenging, uncompromisin...

This novel is the perfect literary gateway into Camus's philosophy. The protagonist, Meursault, embodies the detached, absurd man who operates outside conventional societal emotional scripts. His journey through indifference highlights the arbitrary nature of social judgment and the profound alienat...

Viktor Frankl's 'Man's Search for Meaning' is a profoundly moving account of his experiences as a prisoner in Nazi concentration camps and his development of logotherapy, a school of psychotherapy centered on finding meaning in life. Frankls insights into human resilience, the power of hope, and th...

Nathan Fielder's 'The Rehearsal' is a deeply unsettling and darkly comedic exploration of human connection, anxiety, and the lengths people will go to control their lives. The series follows Fielder as he helps ordinary people rehearse for difficult conversations or life events, creating elaborate a...

While a monumental work of feminist theory, *The Second Sex* is deeply existentialist. Beauvoir applies existential principles to gender, arguing that woman has historically been defined as the 'Other' relative to the male subject. It masterfully shows how societal structures limit freedom by imposi...

The Tartar Steppe is a 1940 novel by Italian author Dino Buzzati. The story follows Giovanni Drogo, a young officer who is stationed at a remote, isolated border fortress. He and his fellow soldiers spend their days anxiously waiting for an impending invasion by the northern Tartars, a threat that c...

Solnits lyrical and insightful memoir chronicles her journey through the American West as a modern nomad, grappling with loss, economic precarity, and the search for meaning in a world increasingly defined by impermanence. It offers a poignant reflection on freedom, community, and the human need for...

*Man's Fate* (*La Condition Humaine*) is a 1933 novel by André Malraux that explores the psychological and existential dimensions of political revolution. Set against the backdrop of the 1927 Communist uprising in Shanghai, the narrative follows a group of conspirators grappling with terrorism, deat...

This seminal essay is the quintessential guide to confronting the absurdthe conflict between humanity's innate search for meaning and the universe's cold indifference. Camus argues that the proper response is not suicide or false hope, but 'revolt': acknowledging the absurd while living passionately...

*The Moviegoer* is the debut novel of American author Walker Percy, published in 1961. It follows Binx Bolling, a young stockbroker living in New Orleans who spends his free time going to movie theaters and engaging in superficial romantic relationships. Struggling with a sense of existential malais...

Kenzaburō Ōe's 1964 Japanese novel following a man who contemplates abandoning his brain-damaged newborn, a work of existential literature tied to Ōe's own biography that preceded his 1994 Nobel Prize.

Karl Jaspers was a prominent German-Swiss philosopher who significantly contributed to existentialism. His work explored profound questions regarding human existence, focusing on “boundary situations” – moments of crisis that reveal fundamental truths. He investigated the relationship between reason...

'The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge' is the only novel written by the Bohemian-Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke, published in 1910. Structured as a fictional diary, it chronicles the experiences of a young Danish aristocrat and aspiring poet living in Paris. The narrative deeply explores existent...

While often categorized as sci-fi, SOMA is a profound psychological horror experience that explores existential dread and the nature of consciousness. Set in an underwater research facility, it forces players to confront terrifying questions about what it means to be human and the implications of di...

'Dirty Hands' is a political drama written by French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, first staged in 1948. Set in the fictional country of Illyria during World War II, the play centers on a young bourgeois intellectual who joins a communist party and is ordered to assassinate a political leader. It de...

Frankl's work, rooted in his experiences in Nazi concentration camps, is perhaps the most profoundly impactful application of existential thought to human suffering. It posits that the primary motivational force in life is the 'will to meaning.' It teaches that even in the most horrific circumstance...