Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - The Stranger

Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

The Stranger by Albert Camus

171 reviews

jessica_rva's review against another edition

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reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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alterdd's review

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dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Sympathy for a sociopath

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omg_pear's review against another edition

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funny reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Im so confused but i also understand it all. Philosophy amirite?

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afonsob's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Of course, Camus was a philosopher who developed the existentialist branch of absurdism, in which life is viewed as meaningless, but - as far as I understand it - not necessarily in a despairing manner like nihilism sees it. In absurdism, the meaninglessness of life is a blank canvas where a person, not having chosen to be born, can enact their free will to choose what meaning their life should have and what in their life should give it meaning. The magic of this book lies in conveying that philosophy (more explicitly in the final chapter); but also in the book itself being a blank canvas where each reader can paint their own interpretation of what is happening in/with Meaursault (the main character), and what the plot is ultimately about. Just read other people’s reviews: some see in this book a statement about not conforming to social norms; some see in it a prescient exploration of neurodivergence; some see a conversation about grief and what is the “correct” way to express it; some take from the book a commentary on race, colonialism and jurisprudence. It might seem like the book tries to cover too much in too few pages, but perhaps that is the point: existentialism, after all, is about existence itself and the conscious experience of being a person - what part of life isn’t affected by that?

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readingwithgoose's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Much to think about.

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jorgeisz's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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mushasha's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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bet137's review

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emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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kajasversion's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed it, I thought it was a perfect reflection of Camus’ philosophy. It’s definitely a book that makes you think after you’ve finished and I was able to connect with the views of the main character. Over sll i liked it a lot, I found it to be very entertaining and accessible.

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desiderium_incarnate's review

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reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

"Well, so I'm going to die." Sooner than other people will, obviously. But everybody knows life isn't worth living. Deep down I knew perfectly well that it doesn't much matter whether you die at thirty or at seventy, since in either case other men and women will naturally go on living - and for thousands of years. In fact, nothing could be clearer.

This book is really easy to read, which was the reason it got even 3 stars from me. I don't know why it won a Nobel Prize in Literature to be perfectly honest. Because basically these are the main points of the story:

Meursaults mom dies
He has/shows nearly no emotions during the whole book which makes it pretty boring character wise
He is convinced nothing matters (out of a very egoistical reasoning it seems)
Because of this he has no trouble making friends with pretty unkind, mysoginistic people and partly supports them in hurting others
Then he gets a sunstroke and shoots someone
He is tried and found guilty and will be beheaded

I just think that if nothing matters, or at least things only matter if you attribute them meaning, why do you choose to be a dick? Kindness and empathy are real, other people have feelings, why not choose to be kind? I expected to read a different, absurdist take on 'Life is meaningless' but once again I only found sexist, racist and violent men being nihilistic. Great!

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