The Stranger (1942) (edit title/settings)

• Rated 2 stars

“Camus is adept at replicating the style of Hemmingway in this work and his technical skills are well represented here. This is a bolder example/statement of his absurdist philosophy than he includes in "The Plague", which I enjoyed more (even though the content was more severe). Absurdism attempts to distinguish itself from Nihilism in that it acknowledges that nothing is important, but includes an affirmative/positive attitude on existence by proposing that an awareness of and appreciation for the absurd can and should be used to live a happy life. This valuation is inconsistent with the meaninglessness that it supports and to the extent that it argues against this importance, it argues from a position of willful ignorance, instead of anarchic/destructive hedonism. Absurdism seems to argue that suicide (those disappointed with an incorrect expectation of meaning), religion (those who posit meaning in an unexperienced life), and a life spent searching for happiness instead of simply being happy (happiness cannot be found by searching for it in Camus' opinion) are all equivalently wrong, and merely different forms of philosophic suicide. Absurdism has similarities to Judeo-christian concepts of Grace and Zen's everyday living, but its inconsistancy, its focus on meaninglessness, and its negative views of other philosophies tie it strongly back to Nihilism. The main character is basically a mild mannered sociopath portrayed in a soft light, who ends up contributing to and then reveling in his own death. Not much to recommend. Luckily, it is a short work.”

• Rated 5 stars

“Great read!”

• Rated 0 stars

“a story of an ordinary man? Not quite! If this is art, I definitely do not get it. The protagonist is a slug and a putz. A stick figure: the most interesting thing about him is that he helped lure a woman to a beating, and then gave false testimony to get his friend of the hook. Maybe this is an ordinary man (see recent current events) in France. The protagonist reminded me of The Dark Heart of Italy: he has aesthetics but not ethics. Definitely a Solipsist and/or a sociopath. I'm not going to check the recommend box.”

• Rated 0 stars

“I guess I'm not a fan of the existentialist ethos, because I found this "classic" dry, boring, and ultimately sociopathic.”

• Rated 5 stars

“I met a high school teacher on a flight back from MN and she highly recommended. I am looking forward to it. Existential....and I feel compelled to read class notes and study the full content of this book. I have talked to many who read this either in high school or college.

What is living? What is life? What makes a human alive. It rocked.”

• Rated 4 stars

“AP English 11 grade”

• Rated 5 stars

“Muy interesante, me hizo reflexionar muchísimo sobre la sociedad y sus imposiciones, y la libertad de los individuos.”

• Rated 4 stars

“platonic view of a lonely life”

• Rated 5 stars

“I didn't realize how good this book was until 3 years after I read it...”

• Rated 0 stars

“I read most of this in French. Would like to finish it in English.”