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bean_season's review against another edition
I can understand why he wanted to distance himself from this later in his career, but it did show some early promise. I don't know why this is the only Camus my Libby has :(. It's funny to see the huge influence this had on Sarte. My teenage boyfriend lent me a Sarte novel (we were both late teens) and I remember not being impressed, now I'm remembering a lot of similarities! The Stranger was better, but that's a low bar.
amy__harrisl's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
mjbsw's review against another edition
5.0
Cleverly written. I’m going to have to read this again to catch all the fine points, but wow. Worth it.
leolip128's review against another edition
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
naan_24's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
fr4nkienstein's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
In The Stranger by Albert Camus, the major themes include absurdism, the meaninglessness of life, and the inevitability of death. The protagonist, Meursault, lives detached from societal norms, indifferent to life's typical values like love, relationships, and morality. His emotional detachment, particularly regarding his mother’s death and his own fate, highlights the theme of absurdism—the idea that human life is without inherent meaning, yet we constantly seek meaning in a meaningless world. Camus also explores existential freedom, showing how Meursault's rejection of traditional social and religious beliefs leads him to embrace the absurd, accepting death as an inevitable part of existence. Through Meursault’s journey, Camus emphasizes the futility of human attempts to rationalise life’s randomness.
joyceandbooks's review against another edition
3.0
Maybe I expected an absurdist hero represented in the novel but in the end I just got confused as to what Albert Camus was trying to portray. I almost feel like Mersault was a nihilistic psychopath.