Reviews with content warning for Xenophobia - The Stranger

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Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

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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rtownend1's review

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dark inspiring reflective medium-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

4.0

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froon's review against another edition

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3.0

the first half of this book is a slog… but the second half is spectacular! in “part one” all i could wonder about was how this book has such high praise, but once “part two” begins, camus’ wit and philosophical ponderings really shine. however, to me, that didn’t justify or lift up the previous section for me to give it a higher rating. the paratext (i.e., introduction and translator note) does a lot of the work to explain why they first half is like that, but it still didn’t resonate with me like the second half did.

overall, this was a relatively interesting book. you could even say it was, a bit, kafkaesque :)

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alyc00per's review against another edition

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dark reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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matt_needs_medicating's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

Felt to me like a book warning about the dangers of apathy through our super detached protagonist. I found him pretty annoying, but I did enjoy the bluntness and humour Camus infused into the story.

Idk it’s past midnight and i’m sleepy so I don’t have much more to say on it rn.

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afonsob's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Of course, Camus was a philosopher who developed the existentialist branch of absurdism, in which life is viewed as meaningless, but - as far as I understand it - not necessarily in a despairing manner like nihilism sees it. In absurdism, the meaninglessness of life is a blank canvas where a person, not having chosen to be born, can enact their free will to choose what meaning their life should have and what in their life should give it meaning. The magic of this book lies in conveying that philosophy (more explicitly in the final chapter); but also in the book itself being a blank canvas where each reader can paint their own interpretation of what is happening in/with Meaursault (the main character), and what the plot is ultimately about. Just read other people’s reviews: some see in this book a statement about not conforming to social norms; some see in it a prescient exploration of neurodivergence; some see a conversation about grief and what is the “correct” way to express it; some take from the book a commentary on race, colonialism and jurisprudence. It might seem like the book tries to cover too much in too few pages, but perhaps that is the point: existentialism, after all, is about existence itself and the conscious experience of being a person - what part of life isn’t affected by that?

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izzyreading's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad fast-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

4.0

Made me feel an intense sadness and hopelessness after i finished reading it.

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richa_singh's review against another edition

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reflective medium-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

3.25

Could not really understand the MC's motivations for his actions. Although I do understand that the autho seeks to include elements of absurdism and existentialism in hos text, making the main character take a man's life for no rhyme or reason seems rather bizarre. Expected something a bit different. A person does not have to be an apathetic murderer (that too for no reason) to be the exemplar of such isms. His personality was rather peculiar, and he took accountability for almost none of his actions.

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