Name: Vojtech's review of The Stranger by Albert Camus
Item: The Stranger
Rating: 5
Author: Vojtech

Albert Camus

The Outsider or The Stranger (French: L'Etranger) is a novel by Albert Camus published in 1942. Its theme and outlook are often cited as exemplars of Camus's philosophy of the absurd and existentialism, though Camus personally rejected the latter label. The titular character is Meursault, an indifferent French Algerian ("a citizen of France domiciled in North Africa, a man of the Mediterranean, an homme du midi yet one who hardly partakes of the traditional Mediterranean culture"), who, after attending his mother's funeral, apathetically kills an Arab man whom he recognises in French Algiers. The story is divided into two parts, presenting Meursault's first-person narrative view before and after the murder, respectively. In January 1955, Camus wrote: "I summarized The Stranger a long time ago, with a remark I admit was highly paradoxical: 'In our society any man who does not weep at his mother's funeral runs the risk of being sentenced to death.' I only meant that the hero of my book is condemned because he does not play the game."

The Stranger

Vojtech

AJSingh

Really liked the Matthew Ward translation. My goal is to read it in it's original French in the future.

Phillip Santiago

Part of what's distracting about this book is the knowledge that I've met a lot of men who read this in high school and use the scene with the chaplain as a template for their existential beliefs.

Emilia 

Een paar dubieuze opmerkingen door de vingers ziende, 5/5

Liza Warren

This book was such an interesting read. It offered an insight into the mind of an individual for whom emotions weren't their main drive in life and were instead viewed as more of an inconvenience. The syntax throughout the novel is kept so short it really feels as though you are reading someone's inner monologue. Would highly recommend for an interesting, in-depth read.

Jamie Mitchell

I'm not quite sure what to say about this book, but I know I need to say something.

This book... Shocked me. It horrified me. It was such a stunning portrayal of existentialism. I sat down and I read it in one sitting and I am left reeling and I can't stop replaying the whole novel(la?) in my head. Definitely worth the full five stars that I gave it, definitely will be picking up more of Camus' work.

Hana Sadoun

Nicole Dykeman

I know this is a classic, but I just...didn't get it.

isareads

Kinda hated the personality of the character, but I loved the way the story was written.

Katie Chua

re-read because i ran out of library books and i found this on my bookshelf and all it does is make me depressed

cece

I feel like I need to read this book again because it was so short my mind dismissed it’s meaning within the last 50 pages. Interesting read.

Eloise

The Stranger is a simple story, took me about 3 hours to read, and written in what some call the “American Style,” shorty choppy sentences and characters that introduce themselves not in paragraphs of floury flowing prose but by their actions.

This book appealed to me because of two aspects: In the first section, our antihero Meursault paints himself on the pages in sparse and varied tones. We can see that it is a depiction of detachment. The second act is filled with uncertainties, fears, and cries. Meursault, who has spent his whole life changing without enthusiasm, finds it impossible to adapt with his normal ignorance. He is compelled to respond.

This novel eventually reveals the story of a stranger who refuses to play 'the game.' He is unconcerned with the course he follows in life; it is all the same to him. We should cooperate with him to some degree. I felt like I'd been happier before and that I was happy now. He is cool despite the fact that he is on the verge of death. Is he content? Wasn't he still like that? Is this his last plunge into madness? If only it weren't for the pesky heat...

Rick Dobrowolski

Short. Too short. Choppy sentences. Incomplete thoughts. Maybe I should've liked the book more, but I didn't. 

I guess I just didn't care for it, kind of like The Stranger's main character didn't care much for anything.

hana darley 

The whole existentialism concept was communicated, but that doesn’t mean I enjoyed it. The book achieved its purpose but wasn’t a favorite by any means

Ethan Hill

I don’t know dude... the whole thing seemed pretty absurd to me 🤷‍♂️

Gaurav Verma

This has been an absolute treasure. A beautiful plot intertwined with the philosophy of existentialism!

Mary Rose Luksha

When I get a new book, I have to read the last sentence of the book before I begin it...I don't know why, a bad habit I guess. When I read the last sentence of The Stranger, it gave me goosebumps. While I can't say the entire book is chilling, it is incredibly well-written and only makes me wish I could enjoy it in the original language. 

I found the book to be more nihilistic than existential, but Camus's work is an almost perfect example of that entire generation. 

I mostly read classics because they are that - classic, and to give me a good base on which to enjoy more modern fiction. This book is one of those classics you start reading because you're "supposed" to, but keep reading because it's beautiful - albeit in a dark and lonely way, but beautiful nonetheless.

Omar AlHashmi

3.75/5

Life is absurd screams Meursault. So is this book I guess. Then maybe this review is absurd as well. It is of the same importance with all other reviews. Is there a point to even continuing with it then? The fact is inevitable, the review will end just like every other review. It will convey is purpose. Thats it then.

Riah Forbes 

** spoiler alert **
           So, one of the most unusual books I’ve ever read but also one of the most reprehensible protagonists. A friend put it well when he said, “you’re left trying to decide whether to root for an amoral man or an unjust society.” 

I have absolutely no idea how to assign stars. 5? 1? THE AVERAGE.

Jenna

Amending my review because this book somehow stuck with me even though I originally thought it didn't do much for me.

** spoiler alert **
           His actual crime is being a stranger to the rules of society and not having a heart like everybody else. Deeply philosophical and absurd.

Vojtech &
The Stranger by Albert Camus

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