Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Outsider by Albert Camus

23 reviews

h0neybear's review against another edition

reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0

Wouldn’t expect a book like this to be so damn entertaining but it really is. Mersault’s narration is interesting and at times funny and it certainly keeps a reader hooked. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, and Death

Moderate: Confinement, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Grief, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Alcohol and Sexual content

bug5slug5andbook5's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

This book is perfectly written, the roller coaster of feelings you as a reader have towards the narrator is what makes this. I find the  philosophy is important as well, even if you don’t agree with it, it provides a deep dive into the minds of many and a powerful insight to all minds. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Murder, Domestic abuse, Grief, and Gun violence

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Murder, Gun violence, Death, Grief, and Blood

cutepatzie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

It's a very surprising book. It shows how perspective can change every faith. I was so surprised by how much I like this book. Amazing description of places. Very reflective book. Love how much your perspective change from the beginning to the end of the book. Solid read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Physical abuse, Animal death, Gaslighting, Grief, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Chronic illness, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Rape, and Sexism

house_of_hannah's review against another edition

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

3.5

I appreciate how simply this is written. It suited the main character's train of thought, and how surface level he is. However, Meursault is quite a boring person. I read several analyses of this novella, and all of them discuss how Meursault lives an absurdist life, yet he goes along with what the people around him are doing, which feels like a mask to appear more "normal". I don't believe his friends and girlfriend would have liked him as much if he didn't follow along their every whim like he did. To me he just seemed like a detached person who is simply floating through life. 

The court room scene....I could not stand how much his mother was brought up here. Putting her somewhere she can be happy is bad ? Wtf ? Apparently people aren't allowed to grieve differently either. Since he wasn't crying he was obviously planning murder instead, right !? It was such a stretch, and really reminded me how in high profile true crime cases pictures of the suspect at the funeral of the victim(s) are always analyzed to death. I know this scene was supposed to be a bit ridiculous, but man did it get me.

I feel like this absurdism that everyone is talking about truly shows up in the second half of the story during the trial. The prosecutor has a certain view of Meursault, and then forces the narrative to support it. This is something that happens in real cases all the time, and is how innocent people end up incarcerated, so it actually felt quite "true to life". However, the difference here is that Meursault is guilty regardless, and it's more his character that is being judged than anything. 

I think this second half is where the story really shines. Being judged on the perception of who you are, without being able to defend yourself, is terrifying. Meursault's indifference to the world ended up being his downfall, with the one instance of him acting on his own being the trigger. I know Philosphy is the main subject brought up in discussions of this book, but I'm more interested in the Psychology. 

After finishing this novella I went down the Wikipedia rabbit hole about the Algerian War, and learned more about the dark side of French history. I definitely thank this book for that, as it's not a subject I really knew anything about. Overall, I did enjoy reading this story, but I feel I'm just not intellectual enough to truly understand it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Animal cruelty

Minor: Grief

jana16's review against another edition

dark tense 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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Misogyny, Gun violence, Murder, Mental illness, Death, Death of parent, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Violence, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Racial slurs, Vomit, Alcohol, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Grief, Islamophobia, and Misogyny

dniespal's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Sexism, Murder, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Grief, Racism, Addiction, Blood, Body shaming, Cursing, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Alcohol

minervaxyz's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

yozhik's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Murder

miayukino's review against another edition

dark reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.5

(lit pour français ap)

Certainly a reflective and grim story. My prof suggested that many have speculated Mersault to be autistic or have asberger's and as a neurodivergent human (allistic), I gotta say it's way more complex then that. Autism and neurodivergence are not code words for social dysfunction or cold personalities. Obviously, everyone's experience is completely different and without spoiling much, my take is that our protagonist is neurodivergent and feels an incredible amount (contrary to the words of my teacher). He has many recognizable compulsions and intrusive thoughts which remind me of my own OCD traits but his coldness to me is not a physiological characteristic but rather a philosophical one. Not all neurodivergent people inherently believe in nothing (I sure don't), that is Mersault's own distinct nihilism. 

Suffice to say, if you give this one a whirl, do think about the phychological aspects but check yourself when throwing around mental illness as synonyms for complete lack of social understanding and nihilism, because more often than not, it's a stereotype or a subjective experience.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Grief, Death of parent, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Racism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, and Body shaming

Minor: Colonisation

kronosfilm's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Murder, and Grief