Albert Caraco (8 July 1919 – 7 September 1971) was a French-Uruguayan philosopher, writer, essayist and poet of Turkish Jewish descent. He is known for his two major works, ''Post Mortem'' (1968) and posthumously published ''Bréviaire du chaos'' (1982). He is often compared to the philosophers and writers such as

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and

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Biography

Albert Caraco was born

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

on 8 July 1919 to a Jewish family. His family relocated in Vienna, Prague and later in Berlin, before settling in Paris. He attended the

Lycée Janson de Sailly In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 14. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for students between ...

and graduated from Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales in 1939. At the same year, Caraco and his family fled to South America due to

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

threat and approaching

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. His family received Uruguayan citizenship and converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. In early 1940s, Caraco published a series of poems and plays. In 1946, Caraco returned to Paris, where he spent the rest of his life. Inspired by monastic discipline, he devoted himself to writing, although he renounced his Catholic faith. His mother's death in 1969, which was widely documented in his work, ''Post mortem'', had a negative effect on his state. On 7 September 1971, following his father's death, he committed suicide. Most of his unreleased works were posthumously published by L'Age d'Homme publishing company. An article regarding Caraco's works and life, written by

Louis Nucéra Louis Nucéra (17 July 1928 – 9 August 2000) was an award-winning 20th-century French writer. He published his first novel ''L'obstiné'' in 1970. Biography As well as being a writer, Nucéra was a cyclist (he rode the same circuit as the ...

, was published on 4 May 1984 in ''

Le Monde (; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...

''.

Selected works

* ''Le livre des combats de l'âme'' (1949) * ''L'école des intransigeants. Rébellion pour l'ordre'' (1952) * ''Le désirable et le sublime. Phénoménologie de l'Apocalypse'' (1953) * ''Foi, valeur et besoin'', Paris 1957; * ''Apologie d'Israël, vol. 1: Plaidoyer pour les indéfendables'' (1957) * ''Apologie d'Israël, vol. 2: La marche à travers les ruines'' (1957) * ''Huit essais sur le mal'' (1963, 1979) * ''Le tombeau de l'histoire'' (1966, 1976) * ''Les races et les classes'' (1967) * ''Post mortem'' (1968)
English translation
serialized in ''Terror House Magazine'' (2024) * ''La luxure et la mort: relations de l'ordre et de la sexualité'' (1968) * ''L'ordre et le sexe'' (1970) * ''Obéissance ou servitude?'' (1974) * ''Ma confession, Lausanne'' (1975) * ''L'homme de lettres: un art d'écrire'' (1975) * ''Bréviaire du chaos'' (1982) * ''Supplément à la "Psychopathia sexualis"'' (1983) * ''Ecrits sur la religion'' (1984) * ''Semainier de l'incertitude'' (1994) * ''La luxure et la mort'' (2000) * ''Mystère d'Israël'' (2004).

References

External links

An Essay about Albert Caraco
*
Studia caracoana
by Philippe Billé (in French). * Romain Delpeuch
''Albert Caraco: philosophie, littérature et prophétisme''
2015 (in French)
English Translation of Albert Caraco's Breviary of Chaos & Fragments
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caraco, Albert 1919 births 1971 suicides 1971 deaths 20th-century French philosophers Atheist philosophers Existentialists Anti-natalists French ethicists 20th-century French Jews Turkish expatriates in Austria Expatriates in Czechoslovakia Turkish expatriates in Germany Turkish emigrants to France French expatriates in Uruguay Uruguayan writers in French French atheists Former Roman Catholics Philosophers of art French political philosophers Suicides in Paris Writers from Paris Jewish atheists Jewish poets Jewish philosophers 20th-century French poets 20th-century French dramatists and playwrights French male essayists French male poets French male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century French essayists 20th-century French male writers Philosophers of pessimism