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minkkmuse's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
the absurd cruelty of life
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Gun violence
Moderate: Death of parent
ryuutsu's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I honestly don't know what to make of this book. As a big fan of Camus' absurdism philosophy, I was really interested in what this book might be like. My conclusion is that this might be one of the strangest things I've read, but in a way oddly human because of it. I can't decide if I loved it or hated it, therefore leaving it at 3 stars. One thing is for sure though, it stuck in my mind and made me contemplate its implications and, especially, the lack thereof. Which might be exactly the point.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Gun violence, and Murder
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Violence, Physical abuse, Death, and Grief
rosamaria's review against another edition
All the academic boys can come for me all they want, this book is so boring. I do understand that the whole premise of this novel is a man who simply does not care about his actions or the repercussions for them, that does not excuse how bored I was reading this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent, Gun violence, and Animal cruelty
aframe's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse
adum_'s review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence and Murder
Minor: Death of parent
3arth2kaye's review against another edition
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, and Gun violence
Moderate: Physical abuse
jkononova's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I found this book to be relatively underwhelming, relative to my high expectations sourcing from its status as a classic. While reading this story, I spent most of my time enjoying the prose while simultaneously wondering what all of the various details and descriptions were leading up to. Though I guess the sense of underwhelm and pointlessness may well be part of the described philosophy, so fair play to the author haha.
An angle I’ve found quite interesting is looking at this story through the lens of neurodivergence specifically. Meursault's continuous failure to conform to society’s expectations is a large part of why he is sentenced to death; the prosecutor’s claim that he was responsible for his mother’s death as well as the unrelated case of parricide was a wild one, and one that would’ve been entirely avoided if he had looked a bit sadder, chosen to see a sadder movie, and cried at the right times in front of the right people. While this man is called monstrous for a lack of this innate quality, these accusations are more a result of failing to engage in various social pretenses, and he was all in all not a menace to society outside of this one incident. Having just read East of Eden, I additionally found it interesting to consider Steinbeck’s perspective on Kate in contrast to society’s treatment of this story’s protagonist.
As an aside, I want to note that Camus' absurdist view on life likely isn't as revolutionary to me as when this work were first published; I feel like I've had too much exposure to this kind of philosophy at this point in my life to be truly changed or fascinated by it in the way I had anticipated, but others might find this to be a transformative read. Despite this not being a massive standout, the last few pages (the last two, in the edition I read) are marvelous, in my opinion, and I will be coming back to reread those specifically.
An angle I’ve found quite interesting is looking at this story through the lens of neurodivergence specifically. Meursault's continuous failure to conform to society’s expectations is a large part of why he is sentenced to death; the prosecutor’s claim that he was responsible for his mother’s death as well as the unrelated case of parricide was a wild one, and one that would’ve been entirely avoided if he had looked a bit sadder, chosen to see a sadder movie, and cried at the right times in front of the right people. While this man is called monstrous for a lack of this innate quality, these accusations are more a result of failing to engage in various social pretenses, and he was all in all not a menace to society outside of this one incident. Having just read East of Eden, I additionally found it interesting to consider Steinbeck’s perspective on Kate in contrast to society’s treatment of this story’s protagonist.
As an aside, I want to note that Camus' absurdist view on life likely isn't as revolutionary to me as when this work were first published; I feel like I've had too much exposure to this kind of philosophy at this point in my life to be truly changed or fascinated by it in the way I had anticipated, but others might find this to be a transformative read. Despite this not being a massive standout, the last few pages (the last two, in the edition I read) are marvelous, in my opinion, and I will be coming back to reread those specifically.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent and Grief
Minor: Animal cruelty
sagelikesscats's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.0
Maybe a lot of people find the protagonist insufferable, but I didn’t really mind that he was nihilistic, maybe we that he didn’t care that the things he did had a negative affect on others.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexism, and Confinement
Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, and Sexual content
Minor: Racism
sarahsbookss's review against another edition
dark
reflective
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
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Death of parent, Death, Hate crime, Racism, and Violence
andreamichelle's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-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
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Xenophobia, and Death of parent