The Labyrinth: An Existential Odyssey with Jean-Paul Sartre - Ben Argon

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AUTHOR: Ben Argon
GENRE: Graphic Comic, Philosophy
PUBLICATION DATE: April 14, 2020
RATING: Can't decide!


A look at Jean-Paul Sartre's existentialist philosophy through comics.

Interesting use of a rat narrator to explain the rat race rushing behind 'cheese'. Covers several abstract concepts such as life and death, freedom, choice, and the meaning of life. All are elaborated upon in an accessible way, with some good metaphors and a few thought-provoking lines. ("The world is different if we are different." - 💯) However, the explanation gets repetitive after a while. I am not sure if this is attributable to the original philosophy or the rat metaphor that is, quite literally, stuck in a maze.

This wasn’t exactly my cup of tea because I am severely allergic to philosophy. The humour and the easy-going writing made it somewhat palatable, but the topic itself and the repetitiveness of the theory also led to a heaviness in the head while reading.

This might be a good option for those who want to understand Sartre's philosophy but are daunted at the prospect or reading lengthy abstract tomes. Then again, my elder daughter loves philosophical and introspective topics, and even she found this book a chore to complete, saying it was repetitive and needlessly dense. So I’m not really sure about its appeal.

Leaving it without a rating because the subject absolutely wasn’t for me, and also because I cannot decide whether to blame the topic or the approach for the resultant headache.

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