From the Bookshelf of EVERYONE Has Read This but Me - The Catch-Up Book Club…

The Stranger

Albert Camus

Start date: February 1, 2022

Finish date: February 28, 2022

Discussion: CLASSICS READS

Why we're reading this: Feb. 2022 - Classics Selection
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CLASSICS READS

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What Members Thought

Nov 08, 2009 Adam rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: romans-français

Meurseault's journey is neither original or relevant to modern audiences. The nihilistic ideas introduced by Camus are frustratingly outdated, and the book feels like a bizarre walk through the life of an apathetic idiot.

Even having read it in the original French, I was neither inspired nor stimulated, and it is frustratingly dry.

Rather than read it, you should just clasp it in your hands and beat yourself over the head with it. It will have the same effect. ...more

16 likes · Like · see review

Apr 13, 2017 Ian Anderson rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I'm still trying to wrap my head around this one.

I will likely only begin to do this successfully once I read it for the second time. It's one of those deals. I went into The Stranger not knowing anything about it other than hearing Camus was a philosophical type of writer. So despite the size, I expected this tedious, difficult book that I would need to drudge through. Well, what an unfair assumption that turned out to be. This preconceived notion made my reaction to the novel that much stronge I'm still trying to wrap my head around this one.

I will likely only begin to do this successfully once I read it for the second time. It's one of those deals. I went into The Stranger not knowing anything about it other than hearing Camus was a philosophical type of writer. So despite the size, I expected this tedious, difficult book that I would need to drudge through. Well, what an unfair assumption that turned out to be. This preconceived notion made my reaction to the novel that much stronger when it hooked me from the first sentence and immersed me in the story. He tricks you because the writing is so simple and straightforward but suddenly certain sentences cut right to your core with depth and meaning. I found myself gradually decreasing my reading speed as the book went on and by the last few pages I was savoring every sentence. The overall message can be, I think, insufficiently summed up as life is meaningless. We live and we die and the world still goes on without us when we're no longer here. But there are also many other takeaways that I wish I could do a better job of describing. It made me think about how we let other people dictate how we should feel, or express how we feel. (view spoiler) Many say that other works by Camus are better representations of his style, so now I really looking forward to those because this one won't be easy to top for me.

(view spoiler) ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Dec 22, 2018 Jim Townsend rated it it was amazing

Wow. A story of a man drawn into a senseless murder on an Algerian beach and faced with the absurdity of a pointless life behind bars, Camus' first novel explores "the nakedness of man faced with the absurd". ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Dec 13, 2021 Prem rated it really liked it · review of another edition

ஒரு குற்றவாளிக்கு தண்டனை வழங்கப்பட வேண்டுமா அல்லது அவரது விருப்பப்படி அவர் என்ன செய்ய விரும்புகிறார் என்பதை தேர்வு செய்ய அனுமதிக்க வேண்டுமா?

1 like · Like · see review

Jul 12, 2018 Sam rated it did not like it

Shelves: 1-star

I got 25 pages in and I couldn't do it anymore. This book feels like it was written by a 3 year old. The sentences are extremely choppy and I felt like a was reading a school paper from a kid with zero writing skills. ...more

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