The Stranger

This book seems to be a closeted religious work. Meursault is so profoundly unlikeable, and his relationships to others, especially his girlfriend, are almost completely lacking in any real compassion or affect. He regrets the loss of his girlfriend only once he is in prison, and only then, because he cannot touch her anymore, but when she asks him to marry her, he won't do it, and he won't...more

This book seems to be a closeted religious work. Meursault is so profoundly unlikeable, and his relationships to others, especially his girlfriend, are almost completely lacking in any real compassion or affect. He regrets the loss of his girlfriend only once he is in prison, and only then, because he cannot touch her anymore, but when she asks him to marry her, he won't do it, and he won't tell her he loves her either. But I don't think that existentialism necessarily has to mean that one's life lacks meaning, or that one can't feel compassion or love for other people. Sartre argued for a transformation in other people based on seeing others as equals and based on our awareness that we had to make the best of this life because there may not be another one. I still don't understand whether Camus meant this as a critique of existentialism or an embrace of it. Thoughts?   hide

The gentleman who stars in this book is by far the best character in a book i have ever read. Expect for perchance the author of the Shadow of the Wind in the book The Shadow of the Wind. He is a guy who is as close as apathic as possible. Such a character would be boring, but Mr Camus manages to make him insightful & interesting to read. Being a sort book also adds to the story, there is not...more

The gentleman who stars in this book is by far the best character in a book i have ever read. Expect for perchance the author of the Shadow of the Wind in the book The Shadow of the Wind. He is a guy who is as close as apathic as possible. Such a character would be boring, but Mr Camus manages to make him insightful & interesting to read. Being a sort book also adds to the story, there is not a lot of fluff to it, just pure storytelling. This book does not have an uplifting tone & the ending delightfully fits the character. Drinking a slightly bitter tea while reading this books is something i suggest. ^-^.   hide

One of the best 100 books of the 20th century.

Meursault is a difficult figure to understand, and yet irrespective of what one thinks of his moral attitude, throughout he remains true to himself. Camus writes that “Far from lacking sensibility, he is driven by a tenacious and therefore profound passion, the passion for an absolute and for truth”. In the course of this read, I kept being reminded of Prince Myshkin and Nastasya Filippovna...more

Meursault is a difficult figure to understand, and yet irrespective of what one thinks of his moral attitude, throughout he remains true to himself. Camus writes that “Far from lacking sensibility, he is driven by a tenacious and therefore profound passion, the passion for an absolute and for truth”. In the course of this read, I kept being reminded of Prince Myshkin and Nastasya Filippovna in Dostoevsky’s The Idiot, who were also treated as societal misfits for their uncompromising honesty. Here too, one admires Meursault for his ‘ridiculous fidelity’ in the face of social pretence and premeditation around him. He refuses to partake in duplicitousness, to ‘play the game’, and for that he is condemned by society. In his unyielding candour, Meursault refuses to display emotions that he does not feel, or participate in social conventions calling for dishonesty. Meursault, is judged guilty for his failure to exhibit grief at his mother's funeral in a manner deemed acceptable or ‘normal’ by the rest of society.   hide

sebuah novel oleh Albert Camus. It is one of the best-known examples of existentialism, and one of the most famous novels of the twentieth century. Ini adalah salah satu contoh paling terkenal dari eksistensialisme, dan salah satu yang paling terkenal dari novel abad kedua puluh. The novel tells the story of an alienated, anomic French man, Meursault, who eventually kills a Middle Eastern man in...more

sebuah novel oleh Albert Camus. It is one of the best-known examples of existentialism, and one of the most famous novels of the twentieth century. Ini adalah salah satu contoh paling terkenal dari eksistensialisme, dan salah satu yang paling terkenal dari novel abad kedua puluh. The novel tells the story of an alienated, anomic French man, Meursault, who eventually kills a Middle Eastern man in Algiers . Kalau tetap memberitahu cerita yang menjadikan, anomic Perancis manusia, Meursault, yang akhirnya membunuh seorang pria Timur Tengah di Aljazair. At the trial, the prosecution calls him a remorseless killer, and he is convicted, and waits to be executed. Pada uji coba, penuntutan panggilan dia pembunuh yang kejam, dan ia dihukum, dan menunggu untuk dieksekusi. In the prison cell he assumes a role as a passive individual and realizes this because Aaron the Arab wont share his waffle crisps. Dalam sel penjara dia anggap peran sebagai individu dan pasif menyadari ini karena Harun Arab kebiasaan berbagi itu omongan crisps. The book uses a pre-World War II Algeria in setting drawn from Camus's own upbringing. Buku menggunakan pra-Perang Dunia II di Aljazair pengaturan diambil dari Camus sendiri asuhan.   hide

I recently read This is How by M.J Hyland (which is essentially a much better re-telling of this story) and absolutely LOVED it, so I think my opinion of The Stranger is worse than it would have been had I read it a year ago. While the story is interesting and the subject-matter tackled fairly well, I found it to be too simply written for me to fully get into. Lost in translation, perhaps? A...more

I recently read This is How by M.J Hyland (which is essentially a much better re-telling of this story) and absolutely LOVED it, so I think my opinion of The Stranger is worse than it would have been had I read it a year ago. While the story is interesting and the subject-matter tackled fairly well, I found it to be too simply written for me to fully get into. Lost in translation, perhaps? A quick and easy read, nonetheless.   hide

A good and necessary read for anyone that wants to be able to discuss contemporary literature, although not my personal favorite. The emotional vacuity of Meursault made this story less moving for me than other, somewhat-similar stories, but on the whole this was an engaging, and far better, work than The Plague.

Read this in 2 days. Another great book by Camus, fast becoming my newly discovered favourite author.

Multi-layered prose befitting a true reflection on how society, and ultimately men, can be a farse of their own making.