Reviews with content warning for Islamophobia - The Outsider

Reviews tagging 'Islamophobia'

The Outsider by Albert Camus

14 reviews

asterixmj's review against another edition

funny reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I've been reading some reviews on this book and i think there's a lil something that people are criminally misunderstanding about this book (or maybe they aren't, and my interpretation of the book is as weird as any other, who knows?), and that is that you're supposed to loathe the way that Meursault is living his life, you're supposed to close the cover on the book and be like 'that is NOT how I want to live my life' and continue on, making a conscious effort to be as far removed from Meursaults life as you can be.
Meursaults life is a result of completely giving up your soul in the name of absurdism (or nihilism, or existentialism, I really can't remember which it is and can't be bothered at the moment to look it up) and the consequences of doing so. I'd recommend listening to Mitski's 'The Deal' from her latest album, and think of Meursault as the individual that would result from such an encounter. Meursault is criminally under-creative, there's nothing in his life that goes beyond sensual and physical sensations, his life has no meaning other than eating, having sex with Maria, sleeping, surviving, really. Meursault is not living, he's merely surviving, he has no opinion on anything at all, he chronically just does not care about anything, 'cus that's the absurdity of it all, isn't it?', 'what worth is it giving life any value when it is all so absurd?', and the book slaps you in the face saying 'you're purposefully making your life miserable and one devoid of any meaning at all, if your sole goal in this life is to survive, you're doing life itself a massive disservice'. Be creative, find a lil meaning in the stupid things of life. It's all absurd and in the grand scheme of things we're all worthless, epehemeral dots of life that'll have no impact in the fate of the universe, but what about the small scheme of things? What about your daily life? What about the life of the cat across the street? Of your neighbours? Of your colleagues, family, friends? We can give life a meaning, regardless of how small that meaning may be, so stop sabotaging your own life and take this book as a call to start enjoying the little things in life that Meursault would never have been able to enjoy.
Be a foil to Meursault, and maybe life will seem just a little bit more bearable :)

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biobeetle's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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richa_singh's review against another edition

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reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Could not really understand the MC's motivations for his actions. Although I do understand that the autho seeks to include elements of absurdism and existentialism in hos text, making the main character take a man's life for no rhyme or reason seems rather bizarre. Expected something a bit different. A person does not have to be an apathetic murderer (that too for no reason) to be the exemplar of such isms. His personality was rather peculiar, and he took accountability for almost none of his actions.

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freckled_frog_boi's review against another edition

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asshole till death rip

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hausofrhetorika's review against another edition

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? No

Que a la mayoría de la gente le pase de noche el crimen de odio y la misoginia para admirarle la escritura a este vato... la verdad es que no me sorprende.

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melchior's review against another edition

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funny reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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smthngrandom's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This is the first Albert Camus book I’ve ever read so I’m unfamiliar with his philosophy. I think that this stopped me from understanding the nuance in this book.

I enjoyed the general dreamlike vibe of the book, and found the second half with the trial particularly compelling, especially his outburst at the end.

I think I’ll have to reread this if I read more of Camus’s work.

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