Reviews with content warning for Xenophobia - The Stranger

Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

The Stranger by Albert Camus

25 reviews

afonsob's review against another edition

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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izzyreading's review against another edition

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dark 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

4.0

Made me feel an intense sadness and hopelessness after i finished reading it.

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richa_singh's review against another edition

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reflective medium-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

3.25

Could not really understand the MC's motivations for his actions. Although I do understand that the autho seeks to include elements of absurdism and existentialism in hos text, making the main character take a man's life for no rhyme or reason seems rather bizarre. Expected something a bit different. A person does not have to be an apathetic murderer (that too for no reason) to be the exemplar of such isms. His personality was rather peculiar, and he took accountability for almost none of his actions.

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nevial's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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toffishay's review against another edition

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dark funny reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.0

The characters are complicated and often not all that likable, but it is valuable to read this one in the context of other works by Camus. The novel is all about the absurdity of this Mersault's life and life in general. It all means nothing and all we have is our own time. I struggle to place it, but it gave me a similar sense as reading O Caledonia by Elspeth Barker and Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami. It could be something about the downtrodden main characters who are actors in their own stories, but fail to see the whole pictures and so are swept away, as we often are.

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cookie_khumalo's review

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dark reflective fast-paced

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

2.25

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hausofrhetorika's review against another edition

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? No

Que a la mayoría de la gente le pase de noche el crimen de odio y la misoginia para admirarle la escritura a este vato... la verdad es que no me sorprende.

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