Reviews

This book shows up on a heap of classics lists, so I figured I’d go ahead and read it considering the events surrounding our current time. I was surprised to find the MC end up quite nihilistic with sociopathic tendencies at the beginning of the story. His indifference toward multiple social issues became more alarming as things progressed. From animal cruelty to domestic abuse to elder neglect, and then ultimately murder; it’s clear his disassociation allowed others to steer him easily into situations he did not have the emotional capacity to think through the consequences of. There was genuinely a striking juxtaposition between his internal thoughtful and caring monologue opposed to his mundane and simplistic projected personality. I feel this lead to him being a very dangerous individual when exposed to certain people’s personalities or manipulations. What was impressive was his ability to parse it out and settle into his belief that life is truly meaningless and in the end nothing matters because you’re gone, but during his last moments he still longed for any sort of recognition even if it was negative.

botbookgirl's review against another edition

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5.0

Reread of one of my high school English favs that stood the test of time

havennnofjoyy's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny tense fast-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

4.5

euanchy's review against another edition

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5.0

I liked it

apechild's review against another edition

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4.0

Very good, but also very grim and disillushioning book. Basic plot is a guy, Meursault, who lives in Algeria (this was published in the 40s, so it's a few decades ago) and doesn't do much exciting - goes to work, goes out with girls etc. He doesn't really have any ambitions or plans, but generally lives day to day, accepts things as they are (eg. that he and his mother obviously don't have a close relationship) and doesn't analyse or worry about anything. On a trip to the beach with his girlfriend and friend, he kills a local man. It's not premeditated and is for no major reason other than he happened to be carrying a gun, the guy pulled a knife, and he was really hot and woozy. What seems to freak people out afterwards is not the fact that he killed a man, but that he isn't religious, shows no remorse for the killing, had no motive, and worst of all, didn't cry at his mother's funeral!! It's a bit of a bizarre trial in a way, because the whole mother relationship seems to take precedent over the murder of the man. I guess he knows how he could act to get himself acquitted, but instead he's completely honest with how he feels about it all, which doesn't go down well with the court. To be fair, he is guilty of murder, but for them to bring the whole mother angle into it is unfair, because whether there's something mentally wrong with him or not, people deal with grief in different ways - so saying that someone didn't cry at a funeral doesn't necessarily mean that they don't feel grief. Although maybe in this guy's case, he really didn't feel grief.

So he is on the outside of the expected norm of society. Throughout the trial they're all picking him apart, and discussing various aspects of the case, but never really involving him as if he's irrelevant. When they come to read the verdict of his trial, he's the one person who's not allowed back into the courtroom!

serenaii's review against another edition

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dark reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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