Beginner question
Existentialism books for beginners: what to read, in order
Short answer: Start with Sarah Bakewell's At the Existentialist Café for the story, then Sartre's short Existentialism Is a Humanism, Camus' The Stranger, Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground and Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling. Leave Being and Nothingness for later.
Existentialism reading order for beginners
At the Existentialist Café
Sarah Bakewell
Recommended on r/askphilosophy and elsewhere as the accessible history.
448 pp≈11 h●○○ GentleEdition: Vintage · ISBN 9780099554882
Existentialism Is a Humanism
Jean-Paul Sartre
The short lecture: 'existence precedes essence'.
128 pp≈3 h●○○ GentleEdition: Yale University Press · ISBN 9780300115468
The Stranger (The Outsider)
Albert Camus
Existential themes in a short novel (Camus rejected the label).
123 pp≈3 h●○○ GentleEdition: Vintage International · ISBN 9780679720201
Notes from Underground
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Often called a forerunner of existentialism.
136 pp≈3 h●●○ SteadyRead this first: Part 1 is the hard, ranting monologue; Part 2 is story. Some readers start with Part 2.
Edition: Vintage Books · ISBN 9780679734529
Fear and Trembling
Søren Kierkegaard
The usual first Kierkegaard: short and widely taught.
158 pp≈4 h●●● DemandingEdition: Penguin · ISBN 9780140444490
Existentialism: A Very Short Introduction
Thomas Flynn
A compact academic overview (Oxford Very Short Introductions).
160 pp≈4 h●●○ SteadyEdition: Oxford University Press, USA · ISBN 9780192804280
Translations
Most of these are translated from French, Danish or Russian. The Sartre edition we link is Yale's (translated by Carol Macomber); the Notes from Underground edition is Pevear & Volokhonsky (Vintage).
Where people get stuck
- Starting with Being and Nothingness or Heidegger: replies in the threads we cite call them dense.
- Mixing up absurdism (Camus) and existentialism (Sartre).
Frequently asked questions
What is the best existentialism book for beginners?
Bakewell's At the Existentialist Café for an overview; Sartre's Existentialism Is a Humanism for a short primary text.
Where should I start with Kierkegaard?
Fear and Trembling is the usual first book.