Chapter 1 Summary

The book begins with an epigraph, a quote that references Mikhail Lermontov’s 1839 novel A Hero of Our Time which is famous for its antihero protagonist. The quote states that the book is “a portrait, but not of an individual; it is the aggregate of the vices of our whole generation” (3).

Jean-Baptiste Clamence meets a stranger who is trying to order at a bar called “Mexico City” in Amsterdam. The stranger does not realize the bartender only speaks Dutch and does not understand he is asking for gin. Clamence orders gin for the stranger and brings his own drink over so the two can talk. He calls the anonymous stranger his “cher ami,” meaning “dear friend”, and talks to him about the bartender, calling him an “ape” and comparing him to the ancient humans found at Cro Magnon, France. Clamence admires the bartender’s distrustful nature.

Clamence reflects on France, and his cher ami smiles at his wording. Clamence used the subjunctive tense, which is a grammatical tense in English and a form of conjugation in French. In French, it is not often used and is typically a mark of higher education.