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Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Death of parent
funny
reflective
tense
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
I've been reading some reviews on this book and i think there's a lil something that people are criminally misunderstanding about this book (or maybe they aren't, and my interpretation of the book is as weird as any other, who knows?), and that is that you're supposed to loathe the way that Meursault is living his life, you're supposed to close the cover on the book and be like 'that is NOT how I want to live my life' and continue on, making a conscious effort to be as far removed from Meursaults life as you can be.
Meursaults life is a result of completely giving up your soul in the name of absurdism (or nihilism, or existentialism, I really can't remember which it is and can't be bothered at the moment to look it up) and the consequences of doing so. I'd recommend listening to Mitski's 'The Deal' from her latest album, and think of Meursault as the individual that would result from such an encounter. Meursault is criminally under-creative, there's nothing in his life that goes beyond sensual and physical sensations, his life has no meaning other than eating, having sex with Maria, sleeping, surviving, really. Meursault is not living, he's merely surviving, he has no opinion on anything at all, he chronically just does not care about anything, 'cus that's the absurdity of it all, isn't it?', 'what worth is it giving life any value when it is all so absurd?', and the book slaps you in the face saying 'you're purposefully making your life miserable and one devoid of any meaning at all, if your sole goal in this life is to survive, you're doing life itself a massive disservice'. Be creative, find a lil meaning in the stupid things of life. It's all absurd and in the grand scheme of things we're all worthless, epehemeral dots of life that'll have no impact in the fate of the universe, but what about the small scheme of things? What about your daily life? What about the life of the cat across the street? Of your neighbours? Of your colleagues, family, friends? We can give life a meaning, regardless of how small that meaning may be, so stop sabotaging your own life and take this book as a call to start enjoying the little things in life that Meursault would never have been able to enjoy.
Be a foil to Meursault, and maybe life will seem just a little bit more bearable :)
Meursaults life is a result of completely giving up your soul in the name of absurdism (or nihilism, or existentialism, I really can't remember which it is and can't be bothered at the moment to look it up) and the consequences of doing so. I'd recommend listening to Mitski's 'The Deal' from her latest album, and think of Meursault as the individual that would result from such an encounter. Meursault is criminally under-creative, there's nothing in his life that goes beyond sensual and physical sensations, his life has no meaning other than eating, having sex with Maria, sleeping, surviving, really. Meursault is not living, he's merely surviving, he has no opinion on anything at all, he chronically just does not care about anything, 'cus that's the absurdity of it all, isn't it?', 'what worth is it giving life any value when it is all so absurd?', and the book slaps you in the face saying 'you're purposefully making your life miserable and one devoid of any meaning at all, if your sole goal in this life is to survive, you're doing life itself a massive disservice'. Be creative, find a lil meaning in the stupid things of life. It's all absurd and in the grand scheme of things we're all worthless, epehemeral dots of life that'll have no impact in the fate of the universe, but what about the small scheme of things? What about your daily life? What about the life of the cat across the street? Of your neighbours? Of your colleagues, family, friends? We can give life a meaning, regardless of how small that meaning may be, so stop sabotaging your own life and take this book as a call to start enjoying the little things in life that Meursault would never have been able to enjoy.
Be a foil to Meursault, and maybe life will seem just a little bit more bearable :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Islamophobia, Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty
mysterious
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Mental illness, Death of parent, Murder
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
it was interesting to return to this book that i read in high school but there’s not much else that i have to say about it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse
Moderate: Gun violence, Racism, Murder
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Death of parent, Murder
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:
Complicated
"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!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Death of parent, Murder
dark
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcohol
reflective
Camus had something deeply broken in him.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder
Minor: Animal cruelty, Sexual content, Colonisation
dark
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence
Minor: Grief
challenging
dark
mysterious
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
This was truly the worst book I’ve ever read. Not only was the main character completely insufferable but all the other characters were equally as awful. The idea of the main character being an “ordinary man” is disturbing. Nothing about him is ordinary in my book. The only thing I liked about the book was it’s overall creepy and dark tone. Otherwise I thought it was pointless, there is no development or growth. It was dull and borderline unreadable.
Maybe I just completely missed the mark but I’m 99.9% certain the main character is a psychopath and truly has no emotions. He has no redeeming qualities. Allowing Raymond to do what he did is literally exhibit A.
Also Marie is a complete idiot.
Also Marie is a complete idiot.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship