Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - The Stranger

After reading and loving The Myth of Sysiphus I wanted to see what else Camus wrote. This was disappointing to me. Maybe the translation I read wasn't true to the original or something. I needed it to be more up front with what is was trying to say. Nihilism sucks, and yet the universe continues to be indifferent. Yeah sure, but give me more than that to work with.

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seashanthis's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

it falls short as a story but the writing's good. the message is prioritized above the story, and the theme does a great job at showing the absurdity of all facets of life and societal structures, and that nothing in life matters, and that's ultimately something we can derive happiness or satisfaction from.

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zintam's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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ulitrinktpepsi's review against another edition

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funny reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
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

5.0

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rosenbrook's review against another edition

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challenging 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? Yes

2.5

This is my second try reading Camus, and I didn’t like this one either.
The book seeks to explore Camus’ philosophy of absurdism through the lens of a man who participates in a non-sensical murder for non-sensical reasons, and endures a non-sensical trial. But the problem is that the characters’ actions could only be seen as absurdist through the lens of Camus’ time. At first, I hated the writing style of Part 1 - so much so that (despite the short page amount) this book was a slog. But by the end, I realized that this book is just a unempathetic look of someone with neurodivergence.

Despite the lack of clinical diagnosis at the time, the MC very much comes across as someone with neurodivergence. He’s very autism coded, and other people have difficulty understanding his perspective. When he commits the murder, despite Camus saying the reason was “the sun”, it reminded me of an episode of overstimulation.

When read from the idea that the book is about a neurodivergent man facing prejudice in the court room, it becomes slightly more interesting. However, without a conscientious decision to write this book as such, it comes across as inauthentic and improperly executed. It was impossible to care about or root for a singular character and the narrative devolves into self-important nihilism that is so prevalent in pretentious media.

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jo_lzr's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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alexiisreads's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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