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The Stranger

Albert Camus

Start date: February 1, 2016

Finish date: February 29, 2016

Discussion: Short Story/Novella Collection

Why we're reading this: Monthly Short Story Read, February 2016
[close] Monthly Short Story Read, February 2016

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Short Story/Novella Collection

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* Short Story Classics
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What Members Thought

May 17, 2013 Bob Finch rated it really liked it

Shelves: philosophy, politics, fiction

I read this in French when in college. I remember feeling it was compelling but difficult for me to comprehend as a complete story. That reflects my struggle with French at the time; it was a struggle.

I reread it recently in English, and I more fully appreciated its impact. Camus brings he trade into the mind of a normal but naive man drawn into abnormal circumstances-- of his own making for sure. In the process, Camus really brings the broader social context into focus through the eyes of this ...more

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Jan 31, 2016 Nate Morse rated it it was ok

Shelves: literature, literature-french

This is a short story about a man who seems to have no emotions attending his mothers funeral and a murder trial. Along the way he meets a woman, neighbors and looks out the window.
The moral of the story seems to be "We are all going to die anyway, so who cares what we do now"

While reading the book, my thoughts were not, "this guy has a weird philosophy" and more of trying to figure out if the main character was autistic. It was a quick read, being only about 100 pages long. ...more

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