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malimali_24's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
bluereen's review against another edition
4.0
"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!
***
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!
medhavinii's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
cafeina_eborea's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Sobre um cara que só foi sentir alguma coisa quando se aproximou de um padre e da morte.
foxsphere22_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
alyssatuininga's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
theorygirl_ftw's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
mymiddlename123's review against another edition
4.0
I haven't read too many books about philosophies on life but I've always kind of found it to be an interesting subject because there's really no right answer and everyone's answer is different.
For Meursault life is kind of hopeless. He seems pretty indifferent to the emotional aspects of life but on the other end of the spectrum he is almost hypersensitive when it comes to his senses and the physical things around him: the feel of the sun, the sounds of voices, the minute details of his room, the feel of the water, etc, etc.
On the surface he may seem like he's existing rather than living, but in other ways I think he experiences life in a purer sense than most people who let their emotions rule their life. At many times even before his imminent death he says "it doesn't matter": to a job promotion, to being pals with Raymond, to marrying Marie, etc. But I don't think he says this because he doesn't care, I think he just doesn't see these things as really effecting the end game: that we're all simply waiting for death, some of us just get there sooner than others.
In relation to the return on the investment for our time living: death in 100% of the cases.
Throughout the whole book Meursault's view on life is simply that it doesn't matter. Most of us don't matter and when we're dead we don't effect the living anymore. It's kind of a sad and depressing view on life, but there you have it.
I have to wonder, though, if this hopeless view on life is perhaps a fairly new prospect for him and maybe he is mourning his Maman a lot more than he lets on. We never see how Meursault was before his mother dies since that's how the book opens up. So it makes me curious if his "it doesn't really matter" view is really a result of emotions stirring inside him about his mother dying that he can't really puzzle together. Death always becomes a little more real and terrifying when someone close to you dies and it hits close to home.
While Meursault's view on life is perhaps very sad, it's also kind of true. None of what we do really matters because the future of everyone on the planet is the same no matter how we get there. I personally like to take the point of view that life is short and it's worth experiencing as much as possible within the short time we're here. But hey, to each his own.
Depressing or not, this was a really interesting read. I know it's been translated so I'm not sure if other translations are better or worse, but the one I read was translated by Matthew Ward and I really enjoyed it.
For Meursault life is kind of hopeless. He seems pretty indifferent to the emotional aspects of life but on the other end of the spectrum he is almost hypersensitive when it comes to his senses and the physical things around him: the feel of the sun, the sounds of voices, the minute details of his room, the feel of the water, etc, etc.
On the surface he may seem like he's existing rather than living, but in other ways I think he experiences life in a purer sense than most people who let their emotions rule their life. At many times even before his imminent death he says "it doesn't matter": to a job promotion, to being pals with Raymond, to marrying Marie, etc. But I don't think he says this because he doesn't care, I think he just doesn't see these things as really effecting the end game: that we're all simply waiting for death, some of us just get there sooner than others.
"But everybody knows life isn't worth living."
In relation to the return on the investment for our time living: death in 100% of the cases.
"Since we're all going to die, it's obvious that when and how don't matter."
Throughout the whole book Meursault's view on life is simply that it doesn't matter. Most of us don't matter and when we're dead we don't effect the living anymore. It's kind of a sad and depressing view on life, but there you have it.
I have to wonder, though, if this hopeless view on life is perhaps a fairly new prospect for him and maybe he is mourning his Maman a lot more than he lets on. We never see how Meursault was before his mother dies since that's how the book opens up. So it makes me curious if his "it doesn't really matter" view is really a result of emotions stirring inside him about his mother dying that he can't really puzzle together. Death always becomes a little more real and terrifying when someone close to you dies and it hits close to home.
While Meursault's view on life is perhaps very sad, it's also kind of true. None of what we do really matters because the future of everyone on the planet is the same no matter how we get there. I personally like to take the point of view that life is short and it's worth experiencing as much as possible within the short time we're here. But hey, to each his own.
Depressing or not, this was a really interesting read. I know it's been translated so I'm not sure if other translations are better or worse, but the one I read was translated by Matthew Ward and I really enjoyed it.
dodobees's review against another edition
dark
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0