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sydneyunyi's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
It started off really well, and the part when he murders the Arab I was shocked. Then the trial went on. Here some of my favorite quotes, “my fate was being decided without anyone so much as asking my opinion.” (98) “Given the position i’d been in, I couldn’t talk to anyone in that way again, I didn’t have the right to show any feeling or goodwill.” (100) “The presiding Judge told me in a bizarre language that I was to have my head cut off.” (107) What really took the rating down was the ending with the Chaplin arguing with each other. It seemed pointless.
balladam's review against another edition
5.0
while i didn’t understand it at first, i eventually saw the method in the madness. i read this at the perfect time, it helped me understand my past relationships more and even some of my own feelings. next time, i’ll read it in french.
ahmed_suliman's review against another edition
1.0
He wasted my time reading about a nincompoop wasting his existence and it's okay with him
frostap's review against another edition
4.0
At times, this book reminded me of "The Unconsoled" (though that may have just been the confused male first-person narrator). "The Stranger" is a quick read, but also a little troubling (but isn't that the nature of absurdist literature?). The protagonist questions free will in the context of a social contract and finds himself a stranger to the world. I couldn't help thinking about criminals (since I know very few) and wondering how often they feel this same disassociation with the greater world.
sofiiaivann's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
sayy123's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sakura_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
3.0
jbrando28's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
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
3.0
Parts of this book that spoke to me:
“Then he offered to bring me a cup of coffee with milk. I like coffee with milk, so I said yes.”
“I remembered that it was Sunday, and that bothered me: I don’t like Sundays.”
Ok but it in all seriousness:
In the afterward, Camus says Meursault is seen by everyone else as a “reject” (or even referred to by the chaplain as “the anti christ”) because “he doesn’t play the game…. He refuses to lie.. He says what he is, he refuses to hide his feelings and society immediately feels threatened.” Personally, I didn’t find him insufferable because he was honest, I found him insufferable because he seems to have no character, backbone, or personal convictions worth defending, of any kind. The few anarchists I’ve met are quite the opposite.
“He is driven by a tenacious and therefore profound passion, the passion for an absolute and for truth.” Ok, you can continue this search for truth while practicing an ounce of empathy, no? Or is human empathy just another trivial civic “rule”, Camus? I wonder, if I was discussing this book with Camus over coffee and some man approached and began beating me, the way Raymond beat his mistress, would Camus be impartial the same way Meursault is? He would probably say “well like I said, we are all bound to be condemned one day!”
“For the first time, in that night alive with signs and star, I opened myself up to the gentle indifference of the world. Finding it so much like myself - so like a brother m, really - I felt that I had been happy and I was happy again.” Yes, the UNIVERSE’s indifference is comforting, but too much indifference from your fellow Samaritans, and strangers end up dead on beaches.
“Then he offered to bring me a cup of coffee with milk. I like coffee with milk, so I said yes.”
“I remembered that it was Sunday, and that bothered me: I don’t like Sundays.”
Ok but it in all seriousness:
In the afterward, Camus says Meursault is seen by everyone else as a “reject” (or even referred to by the chaplain as “the anti christ”) because “he doesn’t play the game…. He refuses to lie.. He says what he is, he refuses to hide his feelings and society immediately feels threatened.” Personally, I didn’t find him insufferable because he was honest, I found him insufferable because he seems to have no character, backbone, or personal convictions worth defending, of any kind. The few anarchists I’ve met are quite the opposite.
“He is driven by a tenacious and therefore profound passion, the passion for an absolute and for truth.” Ok, you can continue this search for truth while practicing an ounce of empathy, no? Or is human empathy just another trivial civic “rule”, Camus? I wonder, if I was discussing this book with Camus over coffee and some man approached and began beating me, the way Raymond beat his mistress, would Camus be impartial the same way Meursault is? He would probably say “well like I said, we are all bound to be condemned one day!”
“For the first time, in that night alive with signs and star, I opened myself up to the gentle indifference of the world. Finding it so much like myself - so like a brother m, really - I felt that I had been happy and I was happy again.” Yes, the UNIVERSE’s indifference is comforting, but too much indifference from your fellow Samaritans, and strangers end up dead on beaches.