magnetgrrl's review against another edition
3.0
I read this in college forever ago. I'm gonna guess like 98-99-00 because I think it was early in my college years, but who knows. I remember then thinking it was fantastic, because I had fallen deep into the existentialism hole and just loved everything existentialist and/or absurd.
In retrospect, I don't love this nearly as much as The Myth of Sisyphus. I confess this is because I just don't get Oran. A lot of this is a character study of a place and time I've never been to, and likely never will go to, and it is just too foreign to me. A lot of the "absurdity" that's not obvious has to do with cultural stuff that's going over my head. The book doesn't present this very other place to you from the perspective of "enjoy the otherness!" which, existentially, it could, but rather it presents this very specific other place to you from a perspective of "there are a lot of deep cuts here only someone familiar could know and you don't and never will" - I guess actually, now that I've written that, is totally Camus and very existentialist in the most metal "you can NEVER KNOW AN 'OTHER' THAT IS WHY THEY ARE 'OTHER'" kind of way, so. Makes the book more of a slog to read though.
Also, I read a TON of like, pandemic/outbreak type books this year, which I'll be adding to Goodreads shortly, as well as a ton of books on loneliness. An although I had remembered this one fondly, while some re-reads lifted me up or gave me new insights... this time around, this was just inscrutable and depressing. And I read it on Kindle which is so unsatisfying; I want to buy a nice like Vintage hardcover copy of the book with a cool cover, but I'll have to wait until used bookstores are open for in-person browsing again because who knows what you'll get when you buy a used copy online.
In retrospect, I don't love this nearly as much as The Myth of Sisyphus. I confess this is because I just don't get Oran. A lot of this is a character study of a place and time I've never been to, and likely never will go to, and it is just too foreign to me. A lot of the "absurdity" that's not obvious has to do with cultural stuff that's going over my head. The book doesn't present this very other place to you from the perspective of "enjoy the otherness!" which, existentially, it could, but rather it presents this very specific other place to you from a perspective of "there are a lot of deep cuts here only someone familiar could know and you don't and never will" - I guess actually, now that I've written that, is totally Camus and very existentialist in the most metal "you can NEVER KNOW AN 'OTHER' THAT IS WHY THEY ARE 'OTHER'" kind of way, so. Makes the book more of a slog to read though.
Also, I read a TON of like, pandemic/outbreak type books this year, which I'll be adding to Goodreads shortly, as well as a ton of books on loneliness. An although I had remembered this one fondly, while some re-reads lifted me up or gave me new insights... this time around, this was just inscrutable and depressing. And I read it on Kindle which is so unsatisfying; I want to buy a nice like Vintage hardcover copy of the book with a cool cover, but I'll have to wait until used bookstores are open for in-person browsing again because who knows what you'll get when you buy a used copy online.
pupaebug's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
corallin28's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
arszania's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
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? No
4.5
mkean's review against another edition
3.0
The plague is just a setting for Camus to explore people's different reactions to the epidemic. I remembered it differently for some reason.
sophiavillanueva's review against another edition
4.0
Leer este libro tiene mayor impacto viviendo una pandemia, como es el caso en la actualidad, pero también tiene mucho mayor impacto leerlo junto con otras lectoras, pues compartir experiencias, análisis y sentimientos que nos provoca es muy enriquecedor.
Camus presenta una historia no muy distinta a la que vivimos actualmente, al grado en el que sentí que pareciera que todos leímos este libro como una especie de manual que ha guiado nuestra comportamiento en nuestra pandemia, ya que la.forma de comportarnos en muchas situaciones muy similares, también es igual a la que describe Camus.
Algo que disfruté mucho fue que ninguno de los personajes emiten juicios sobre el comportamiento de otros, lo cual permite que las relaciones sean más transparentes y pueda apreciarse de manera más clara la condición de cada personaje como individuo.
Hay alusiones, que aunque pequeñas, son constantes a cuestiones de la naturaleza, lo cual pareciera tener un simbolismo, aunque no logro identificar sobre qué específicamente, pero que disfrutaba cuando lo detectaba.
A través de los personajes se refleja el egoísmo de los seres humanos en la parte inicial de una situación de contingencia, pero también se puede ver la colaboración y la mejor faceta de las personas una vez que reconocen que la situación afecta a todos.
Camus presenta una historia no muy distinta a la que vivimos actualmente, al grado en el que sentí que pareciera que todos leímos este libro como una especie de manual que ha guiado nuestra comportamiento en nuestra pandemia, ya que la.forma de comportarnos en muchas situaciones muy similares, también es igual a la que describe Camus.
Algo que disfruté mucho fue que ninguno de los personajes emiten juicios sobre el comportamiento de otros, lo cual permite que las relaciones sean más transparentes y pueda apreciarse de manera más clara la condición de cada personaje como individuo.
Hay alusiones, que aunque pequeñas, son constantes a cuestiones de la naturaleza, lo cual pareciera tener un simbolismo, aunque no logro identificar sobre qué específicamente, pero que disfrutaba cuando lo detectaba.
A través de los personajes se refleja el egoísmo de los seres humanos en la parte inicial de una situación de contingencia, pero también se puede ver la colaboración y la mejor faceta de las personas una vez que reconocen que la situación afecta a todos.
sputniksweetheart's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0