Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - The Stranger

The Stranger by Albert Camus really made me think—it’s one of the most thought-provoking books I’ve ever read and left me questioning so much about life.

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luxxltyd's review against another edition

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reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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justagirlwithbooks's review against another edition

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challenging 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? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

"Maman died today. Or maybe yesterday. I don't know."

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. I really liked the narrator and the narrative style of this book. There were also random one liners that were really funny to read with the context of the book. This was a surprisingly easy classic to read, the translator did a good job. And there were a few surprises in here that I didn't see coming!! This book was what was advertised: absurd. But I really enjoyed it. The discussion around nihilism, religion, and absurdity was all done really well.

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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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maxgoatcher's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense

3.0

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lilylockette's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.75

The Stranger is a great start if you want to get into the classics. Having never read Camus before, i was pleasantly surprised. The beginning is quite slow, but keep reading because it does get better and you will be surprised. The narrator is definitely an awful person, but he makes some pretty funny but crude remarks. I deducted .25 from my review solely for the slow beginning, but it’s still nice because it builds up and kind of catches you off guard when something does happen. I think the end of the book was also pretty great. It’s the kind that makes you stare at your ceiling and sigh when you finish the last page. Overall i would recommend to anyone. Easy to read, written in a fairly straightforward manner. A great introduction to Camus.

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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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ksmarch's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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