Matthew Ward

Albert Camus

An ordinary man is unwittingly caught up in a senseless murder in Algeria.

The Stranger

Through the story of an ordinary man unwittingly drawn into a senseless murder on an Algerian beach, Camus explored what he termed "the nakedness of man faced with the absurd." First published in 1946; now in a new translation by Matthew Ward.

Kat 

Couldn’t he see, couldn’t he see that? Everybody was privileged. There were only privileged people. The other would all be condemned one day  and he would be condemned too. 

What would it matter if he were accused of murder and then executed because he didn’t cry at his mother’s funeral? 

tianna

For everything to be consummated, for me to feel less alone, I had only to wish that there be a large crowd of spectators the day of my execution and and that they greet me with cries of hate.

Sounds of the countryside were drifting in. Smells of night, earth, and salt air were cooling my temples. The wondrous peace of that sleeping summer flowed through me like a tide. 

bella <3

at the time, i often thought that if i had to live in the trunk of a dead tree, with nothing to do but look up at the sky flowering overhead, little by little i would have gotten used to it. 

I was absorbed by the feeling that the sun was doing me a lot of good. 

juana de arco si estuviera cronicamente online

“I laid my heart open to the gentle indifference of the universe“

sheera ⁠✷

For the first time, perhaps, I seriously considered the possibility of my marrying her.

Minsho Limbu

surtified™

And I felt ready to live it all again too. As if that blind rage had washed me clean, rid me of hope; for the first time, in that night alive with signs and stars, I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world.

What would it matter if he were accused of murder and then executed because he didn’t cry at his mother’s funeral?

ngl, everything that's happened to him is actually good for him, he lowkey went from no emotion, no reaction, no nothing, to emotive and expressive. chances are it'll soften the heart. 

Then, I don’t know why, but something inside me snapped. I started yelling at the top of my lungs, and I insulted him and told him not to waste his prayers on me. I grabbed him by the collar of his cassock. I was pouring out on him everything that was in my heart, cries of anger and cries of joy

“No, I refuse to believe you! I know that at one time or another you’ve wished for another life.” I said of course I had, but it didn’t mean any more than wishing to be rich, to be able to swim faster, or to have a more nicely shaped mouth

But the face I was looking for was as bright as the sun and the flame of desire—and it belonged to Marie.

No offense but he's carrying no burden at all.

He was expressing his certainty that my appeal would be granted, but I was carrying the burden of a sin from which I had to free myself

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. Whether it was now or twenty years from now, I would still be the one dying. At that point, what would disturb my train of thought was the terrifying leap I would feel my heart take at the idea of having twenty more years of life ahead of me. But I simply had to stifle it by imagining what I’d be thinking in twenty years when it would all come down to the same thing anyway. Since we’re all going to die, it’s obvious that when and how don’t matter. Therefore (and the difficult thing was not to lose sight of all the reasoning that went into this “therefore”), I had to accept the rejection of my appeal

Girl. Stop. I think you might lowkey be better off not living. 

I would always begin by assuming the worst: my appeal was denied. “Well, so I’m going to die.” Sooner than other people will, obviously. But everybody knows life isn’t worth living.

 Maman used to say that you can always find something to be happy about.

it's so obvious how do you misunderstand this honest man for a criminal with no place in society you absolute jokes

What he read was that I was an honest man, a steadily employed, tireless worker, loyal to the firm that employed him, well liked, and sympathetic to the misfortunes of others.

So if you're aware he has a hardened soul,and that this is hardly his fault, more so society's, then why in the world does 11 months or so in prison make you feel that this will soften it? 

Especially when the emptiness of a man’s heart becomes, as we find it has in this man, an abyss threatening to swallow up society.”

“Here we have a perfect reflection of this entire trial: everything is true and nothing is true

with such glee and with such a triumphant look in my direction that for the first time in years I had this stupid urge to cry, because I could feel how much all these people hated me

and I realized that all that time I had been talking to myself.

One of the most prolific works from Albert Camus. Sometimes simplicity in fiction is an amazing way to introduce philosophical thoughts and ideas; the stranger is no less than just that. It showed how grounded ideas are nothing more than a way of keeping them from their purest state (of being absurd).

Anugerah

i feel like I just tried swallowing sawdust tbh

L'étranger

Romy

Khoa Dang

mari

From the moment I picked up this book, I never found it boring. Reading other reviews, I realized it's not everyone’s cup of tea—some people just don’t get it, but I do. It resonated with me, especially in how it led me to question my own life and in how I found myself agreeing with the main character’s final reflections on life and the years stolen from him: It didn’t matter whether we die today or tomorrow when there’s no one you truly treasure or who understands you.

I hope this doesn’t suggest that I’m straying from my faith, as I’m a devoted believer. I see this novel as capturing the life of an atheist forced to confront the life he lost, to feel remorse and regret, and to cherish the precious moments he could never fully embrace. Reading this book while dealing with depression might seem fitting, though I strongly advise against it. (I’d like to think that I'm just going through a quarter-life crisis.)

🏹

From the moment I picked up this book, I never found it boring. Reading other reviews, I realized it's not everyone’s cup of tea—some people just don’t get it, but I do. It resonated with me, especially in how it led me to question my own life and in how I found myself agreeing with the main character’s final reflections on life and the years stolen from him: It didn’t matter whether we die today or tomorrow when there’s no one you truly treasure or who understands you.

I hope this doesn’t suggest that I’m straying from my faith, as I’m a devoted believer. I see this novel as capturing the life of an atheist forced to confront the life he lost, to feel remorse and regret, and to cherish the precious moments he could never fully embrace. Reading this book while dealing with depression might seem fitting, though I strongly advise against it. (I’d like to think that I'm just going through a quarter-life crisis.)

Maureen

"As if that blind rage had washed me clean, rid me of hope; for the first time, in that night alive with signs and stars, I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world."

***

Cheers to my 60th book this year! Meursault's total indifference to the world throughout is peak absurdism I guess. Even though the ending was predictable, the way Camus wrapped everything up was truly profound. A short but impactful read!

it’s so bad i wanna give you a 0. but that’s not possible, so i’ll give you a 1

一诺

Princess Doe 

i was bored until i was devastated. it’s also legendary to see that i stumbled upon a corpse-laden sun that brings despair and depression before even reading camus

lauren amitirigala

a cautionary tale abt repressing ur emotions: you may end up killing a guy if the sun hits ur eye the wrong way 

 wen

Wassim

Good.I didn't like the ending even tho what did I expected?

armoni mayes

I am a little torn on whether to rate this 3.5 or 4 stars. Maybe I will feel differently later on but that is how I am feeling right now. 

The Stranger is a relatively short story and easy at-face-value read about a man who committed a murder on a summer's day at the beach. We follow a man by the name of Meursault through the described mundanity of burying his mother, his friendship with an awful man named Raymond, his neighbor who beats his dog (?), and his love interest Marie. But he never truly feels any strong emotions to anything or any of the people that are in his life. He is just simply moving through life and kind of just agrees or goes with what other people want him to do. The strange thing that happens is of course the murder.

(I may or may not finish this review later)

“I looked at myself in my tin plate. My reflection seemed to remain serious even though I was trying to smile at it. I moved the plate around in front of me. I smiled and it still had the same sad, stern expression.”

least psychopathic nihilist. the first half of this was such an easy read but started to get heavy and not to my liking. but overall the story was amazing and i loved how a simple mistake caused everything to downward spiral.

the_basis_

“I looked at myself in my tin plate. My reflection seemed to remain serious even though I was trying to smile at it. I moved the plate around in front of me. I smiled and it still had the same sad, stern expression.”

least psychopathic nihilist. the first half of this was such an easy read but started to get heavy and not to my liking. but overall the story was amazing and i loved how a simple mistake caused everything to downward spiral.

Clay Carey

“As if that blind rage had washed me clean, rid me of hope; for the first time, in that night alive with signs and stars, I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world. Finding it so much like myself—so like a brother, really—I felt that I had been happy and that I was happy again. For everything to be consummated, for me to feel less alone, I had only to wish that there be a large crowd of spectators the day of my execution and that they greet me with cries of hate.”

Kat Albanese

i had the same inner monologue when i was 13

can’t help but think I’d like this more if I was smarter

Grace M

Abigail Marie

ruan

Sammy

2.5~ hard to trust our boy meursault and everything he says, yet i find his mentality comically easy to understand and sympathize with… but then again there could be something wrong with me. 

we technically never get to find out why he has suddenly come to feel indifferent towards the world around him—as in, a detailed glimpse into his childhood, not the brief accounts of his days living with his mother—nor an event that hints that it has always been a part of his character (as, i’m assuming, camus intended). 

again, it can be hard to believe what he says due to the way in which he sees the world, or on the contrary, very easy to because of his honesty and indifference. either way, he’s an odd fellow and his priorities seem to be all over the place (but for us), definitely in the right place in his eyes, i guess—not that he cares, though.

Meursault leads an unremarkable, bachelor life in Algiers, but his sudden involvement in a violent confrontation throws him into turmoil as he is forced to question the fundamental values of society. Camus creates a world without a God but a society that is still subject to restrictive, man-made rules capable of alienating any who transcend them. In this most memorable of existential novels, Camus pits the lone and courageous individual against the benign indifference of the universe. Meursault's deception perfectly reflects the absurdity of life.

The Outsider

maitha mana

The first part was going agonisingly slow, but the second part is where the explosion happens. It is about a man being charged for murder, and focusing mainly on him being "strange" and devoid of emotions, for not crying over his mother's death and not being able to maintain relationships. Until faced with execution, he finally has a burst and lets it all out.

The Stranger

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