The First Man by Albert Camus (Vintage, $16). The manuscript for The First Man — found inside the wreckage of Camus' fatal 1960 car accident — is unedited, pure, and places you squarely back in his Algerian childhood. As our protagonist searches for a father, he finds a teacher. Makes you wonder if Camus somehow knew just how limited his time was. Soul Mountain by Gao Xingjian (Harper Perennial, $16).