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Jun 29, 2008

Trevor rated it:

I don’t know what to do with these stars anymore. I give stars to books and then I think, ‘god, you give five stars to everything, people will think you are terribly undiscriminating’ – so then I give four stars or even three stars to some books. Then I look back and it turns out that that I’ve given four stars to Of Human Bondage and honestly, how could I possibly have thought it was a good idea to give that book less than five stars? It is the absurdity of human conventions that has us doin More...

19 comments like (123 people liked it)

May 11, 2008

Chris rated it:

If every few words of praise I’ve seen for “The Stranger” over my lifetime materialized into small chunks of rock in space, there’d be enough sh!t to conjure up the Oort Cloud. Much like this distant collection of debris bordering the outer solar system, I can’t really comprehend the acclaim heaped on this story, but luckily, like the Cloud, it’s usually out of sight, out of mind, and has absolutely no discernable current influence on my life. And just like the Oort can occasionally spit a chun More...

48 comments like (52 people liked it)

Jun 02, 2008

Ryan rated it:

The book is simply written and a rather quick read, but the depth Camus manages to convey through this simplicity is astounding. I think a problem a lot of people have with this book is that they fail to look beyond the whole "what is the meaning of life" message. While an interesting question, the book raises so many other philosophical questions beyond this. What I found the most interesting of these is "what truly defines humanity or makes someone human?" During Meursault' More...

3 comments like (61 people liked it)

Oct 24, 2011

Ian rated it:

If You Exist

"The Stranger" dramatises the issues at the heart of existentialism.
The same issues are probably at the heart of life, whether or not you believe in a god.

Being Judged

It's interesting that there has been a crime and now Meursault is being "judged".
The judgement is symbolic not only of the justice system, but of God's judgement of humanity.

Defending Yourself

You would normally expect the defenda More...

8 comments like (21 people liked it)

Nov 21, 2008

Danny rated it:

The Stranger is considered by many to be one of the most important philosophical novels of the 20th Century. In most college courses on Existentialism (a philosophy which holds that human beings create the meaning and essence of their own lives) The Stranger is usually the first thing you will read. If you're interested in philosophy, or Existentialism specifically, The Stranger is a great place to start.

Camus describes Meursault, the main character, only sparingly; and for the major More...

0 comments like (21 people liked it)

Sep 09, 2010

karen rated it:

THIS MAN'S MOM DIES HE FEELS NOTHING.

72 comments like (42 people liked it)

Feb 02, 2008

Dustin rated it:

The narrator, Meursault, is a fascinating character in that he has an incredible sense of material resignation about him. He absolutely rejects all concepts of importance to the absurd trivialities of life while at the same time living with such simple pleasure that one can't help but smirk reading the descriptions in the first half of the book.

His indifference to the way he is perceived leads him to a very level-headed but unsympathetic countenance regarding his friends and acquainta More...

0 comments like (8 people liked it)

Jun 23, 2007

chris rated it:

I remember loving this book as a teenager, and re-reading it this week, I have felt the same. Meursault is one of the most fascinating characters I've ever read, and at the same time I've always felt a certain kinship to him. Why isn't it okay to not care as deeply, or in the same way, as others, especially on the subjects of love and death? Is there any possible connection we can have with the feelings of another? How would we ever know if we were talking about the same thing? His reaction More...

0 comments like (10 people liked it)

Jun 16, 2011

Jeanette rated it:

I think the "meat" of this book, and what made it a classic, is mostly contained in the final chapter. That's where Camus showed himself for the philosopher that he was. I wasn't wowed by this book, but it was interesting to read. The main character is likable enough to the people around him, but he drove me nuts because he is so passive! He just says, "Yeah, okay" to whatever anyone proposes. He has also never learned the art of dissembling, so he causes trouble for him More...

2 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jan 29, 2012

Moonbutterfly rated it:

WHAT THE BOOK IS ABOUT: This is a story about a man who kills Arab in reaction to the environment. He is then brought to trial.

THEMES: This novel demonstrates the philosophy of absurdism and more broadly existentialism.

STYLE: The style of the book is similar to Hemingway and other minimalist. So be prepared for short sentences and little attention to fine details.

OPINION: I wrote this review three times and I still can't articulate in words how I feel about More...

3 comments like (3 people liked it)

Apr 03, 2008

Davide rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Sep 15, 2007

Cindy rated it:

I started this book, finally, understanding that it was an example of existentialist philosophy but knowing little else. I began reading and immediately felt lost in the randomness of it all, in the detailed descriptions of settings and the truncated passages dealing with human exchanges. It was like I was a pinball, being randomly thrown about, much like the protaganist (though he had more input than he would likely admit). I finally had my lightbulb moment, realized that this was the point, More...

2 comments like (11 people liked it)

Jul 12, 2010

افشین rated it:

این کتاب داستان یک مرد درونگرا به نام مرسو را تعریف می‌کند که مرتکب قتلی می‌شود و در سلول زندان در انتظار اعدام خویش است. داستان در دههٔ ۳۰ در الجزایر رخ می‌دهد.

داستان به دو قسمت تقسیم می‌شود. در قسمت اول مرسو در مراسم تدفین مادرش شرکت می‌کند و در عین حال هیچ تاثر و احساس خاصی از خود نشان نمی‌دهد. داستان با ترسیم روزهای بعد از دید شخصیت اصلی داستان ادامه می‌یابد. مرسو به عنوان انسانی بدون هیچ اراده به پیشرفت در زندگی ترسیم می‌شود. او هیچ رابطهٔ احساسی بین خود و افراد دیگر برقرار نمی‌ More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Jonathan rated it:

Je ne l’avais jamais lu, mais j’en avais entendu parler. Je l’ai donc découvert avec une forte attente, et je n’ai pas été déçu. Je me contenterai ici de rapporter le commentaire de Camus lui-même qui fit la préface d’une édition universitaire américaine de ce roman. J’ai adoré. C’est peu de le dire.

"J’ai résumé L’ Étranger, il y a longtemps, par une phrase dont je reconnais qu’elle est très paradoxale : ’Dans notre société tout homme qui ne pleure pas à l’enterrement de sa More...

0 comments like (8 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Rebecca rated it:

Albert Camus, the French Algerian author of this book, as well as two of my favorite collections of humanist essays, "Resistance Rebellion and Death," and "The Myth of Sisyphus," was one of the great novelists of the 20th century. This book, relatively short and quick reading for as much as it tells and does, is a complex psychological portrait of a killer. But Marceaux is not a weird, twisted, evil killer, but a killer whose major failing is his inability to recognize th More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jul 03, 2007

AJ rated it:

Yeah yeah, I liked this book just like everyone else.

Unfortunately, this was one of three assigned to our AP class for summer reading one year, and the inspiration for everydimwitteddogooder"ihaveasensitiveside" asshole in my grade to suddenly "discover" the concept of existentialism.

Suddenly, having nothing better to worry about besides the utter pointlessness and/or meaning of life was the hippest thing since Capri Sun. The phrase "I'm a big fa More...

3 comments like (13 people liked it)

May 26, 2010

Maggie rated it:

Call it existensialist, call it pessimistic, or just flat out boring, but no matter what you call it, this is one of the most affecting novels I've ever read. It encourages free thinking, as the narrator doesn't give you any direction on how to feel or what to think about events over the course of the novel. As Tina would say "it's a thinker."

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

May 26, 2011

Milo rated it:

Alright, so after some thought I'm finally ready to consolidate my thoughts of this novel.

This books follows the character Meursault and shows us his perverse and somehow refreshing outlook on life. He is completely disinterested in things that social life revolves around like marriage, elevations of status, etc... in essence he is the ultimate nonchalant bum. His life is hollow but he is utterly unconcerned with this and goes on quietly existing in the most comfortable way possible.
More...

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jun 17, 2011

K.D. rated it:

"When a recent poll of the books men felt most affecting was run (by a team of female researchers), that the clear winner was Albert Camus' arid existentialist masterpiece The Outsider (a.k.a. The Stranger or L’Étranger 1942), the iconic tale of an indifferent man drawn to murder. So while the ladies voted overwhelmingly for the majestic, slow-burning passion and quiet commitment of classic romance Jane Eyre (1847) as their favorite read, men opted en masse for contingency, solipsism and am

More...

3 comments like (4 people liked it)

Dec 08, 2010

Jasmine rated it:

The first edition I ever owned of this book was one that I stole from my teacher my sophmore year of high school. This was somehow not very frowned upon at my school, because I could come up with at least 15 books that I kept after reading for class. Somewhere along the line that edition took a dive, I don't know what happened to it, but I know it no longer exists and for the first time I insisted on getting a hardcover of a book so it would last. I love this book. even after all these years I s More...

8 comments like (12 people liked it)

Jul 12, 2010

Reza rated it:

کامو
نویسنده ای است با مکتب ادبی اگزیستانسیالیسم که خود یکی از سردمداران این مکتب است.
کتاب بیگانه
داستان روایت زندگی سرد و ساکت شخصی بنام مورسو است که می توان آن را به تنهایی و انزوای آدمی بعد از جنگ جهانی دوم تعمیم داد.
خواننده ناخودآگاه در نگاه اول احساس می کند با انسانی مواجه است که روان پریشانش باعث بروز آن عکس العملهای غیر متعارف میشود اما با کمی ریزبینی می توانیم خود را به مورسو نزدیک کنیم واحساس همزاد پنداری بیشتری با او برقرار نمائیم.
احساس کسالت مورسو بعد از در More...

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Mar 03, 2008

Will rated it:

Shocking and powerful. The story in some ways is a reflection of thoughts and feelings I have myself. Camus creates a portrait of an ordinary person stuck in a moment any of us might find ourselves in as well. It is painful to read--like a dream when your body is responding in sort of the opposite way that your mind is telling it. I know I need to re-read it to get more out of it.

Some quotes that ripped at me:
“I fired four more times at the motionless body where the bullets More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jun 22, 2007

lisa rated it:

this book blew my mind. i haven't had one like this in a while - a book i've heard of mostly in passing, one i know little about - and it exceeds any expectations i have for it. i'm still trying to work out the notorious existentialism of it.

the power of the narrative voice is so strong! i found myself siding with meursalt, the narrator even when he did things that are obviously immoral or societally wrong. why could i so easily identify with his train of thought and the ironically i More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Apr 05, 2007

Aly rated it:

I usually avoid the most famous book by a particular author when I begin, and so I'd liked what I'd read of Camus before, but I avoided The Stranger. In many cases, I've found that the most popular book isn't always the best, and tends to lead to a bad relationship with the author. Having read The Stranger now, I think it would have been alright to begin with it, maybe even beneficial. In reading The First Man and The Plague, I'd acclimated to Camus' style, but I don't think I would have needed More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Taylor rated it:

A fascinating portrait of the dangers of apathy, as well as just how much can be made of even the slightest actions. What really condemns this man, moreso than the fact that he killed someone, is his ability to move through life unaffected, small actions that hold no weight ordinarily but seemed to under the circumstances of his mother's death - smoking a cigarette, going to see a movie.

If people who "feel too much" have ever longed to taste the other side, this should quel More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Apr 04, 2009

Dot rated it:

I, like everyone else, was 17 when I read this book. And I had just gotten done reading Madame Bovary and Return of the Native, so when I opened this and he's talking about catching a bus, I was like "OH MY GOD! They have buses in this book! It's not a zillion years old!" and was just so happy I was reading something that had been written that century.

Everybody knows the story. French dude kills an Arab dude, goes on trial, existentialist shit. I haven't read the other tran More...

4 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Nan rated it:

This is my all-time favorite book. The date listed is the latest reading, as I've now read it several times. A lot of people don't like this book because it's "depressing." First of all, I don't find it depressing at all. Sure, the guys personal viewpoint isn't one I share, but the overall message of the book is that we choose how we feel in any given situation, even if we don't have a lot of control over what's going on around us. Secondly, it's well-written, and, well, if you ju More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 12, 2010

Tim rated it:

I have to begin this review by mentioning that the version of The Stranger to which it refers is the translation by Matthew Ward, and as such it might be different from that of other reviews here. I found this Americanized translation to be a clear, engaging, and stark version of this work. Strangely I found the prose to be very reminiscent of Hemingway.
Camus shows us the founding of absurdism in this book. Meursault experiences the world in a limited sensual way. He eats. He drinks. He s More...

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 30, 2011

Mohammed rated it:

The great thing about The Stranger is that it's not only about the philosophy. Camus doesnt forget to tell an exciting story about the compelling and disaffected Meursault beside the philosophical messages.

That makes this novel so powerful and brilliant. I can only hope his other novels,stories reach similar heights.

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Aug 06, 2011

Wayne rated it:

REVIEW DEDICATED TO LAURA WHO HAS SUFFERED.

O!!!!h.....

Oh why oh why am I reading yet another of Monsieur Camus' 'novels' ???

I very rarely go to French films any more.
I'm sick of being disappointed.
Colette, de Maupassant, Hugo, Voltaire ....love'em!!!!!
But now, it's oh...so wanky!!!!!!

So....'The Outsider"
It's difficult to be interested in a character who is so indifferent to everything around him including himself.He co More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)