Camus' truths are 'Stranger' than fiction.

books:


	• The Stranger Albert Camus Vintage, 1989 - 144 pages average customer review:based on 519 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

An excellent and short read

I just finished reading "The Stranger" and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The book gives me a lot to think about and it puts a new perspective to the "emotionless state" that Meursault lived in.
Looking at the book at a purely story-oriented standpoint it would be easy to analyze it to be about a man who feels nothing but his own desires. But, viewing it from an existentialist point of view it is easier to see Camus' intentions for the reader. He gives us a story in which the protagonist is not judged based upon his actions, but rather by his beliefs. The facts of the case were self defense but the judgment was decided as premeditated because he "didn't cry at his mothers funeral".
The story also shows the confident side the psyche. When Meursault was confronted with the chaplain at the end of the story he was more upset at the accusation of denying his feelings than at the notion of dying. The statement "I was sure about me, about everything, surer than he could ever be, sure of my life and sure of the death waiting for me." sums up the entire book for me; it shows that he was just not an emotionless man, but also a man passionate about his beliefs. When speaking to his lawyer he stated that lying about his emotional state would be wrong. In effect, he would rather be truthful and acknowledge his lack of emotions than lie to save his own life.
The story makes me think of the way that the lack of faith is viewed in this country; for example George H. W. Bush once said "I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God." If that statement isn't bigoted, I don't know what is.

for more information click here

Oh Mearsult

"The Stranger" is (and I know that some of you out there will inadvertently feel this is presumptuous)One of if not the greatest work of short fiction in the history of the twentieth century. Let us forget the legacy of the author.(being a key contributor to philosophy,literature, and essays among other subjects too numerous to debate) Let us even forget that this was his first truly finished piece of fiction. The story of Mearsult stands to this day (and most certainly beyond) as the finest exploration of man and his struggle with the absurdity of modern life. Existential thought could never have been realized without our hero. Mearsult was the protagonist by the way. Not the judge, nor the Arab, nor the sun.
Mearsult is a completely identifiable personality in all of modern man. He is no stranger to any of us , infact I believe that if we really scrutinize the character of Mearsult then we can find a relationship with him that isn't buried or hidden. There is no deep pursuit of darkness in the soul here. He is and will remain the exact copy of our selves for decades to come.
To get on with it then, I should say that this examination of the world , religion, consequence, etc stands as one of the finest pieces of work from Camus. No great grandstanding against facism , no explorations of how sinister the self is when confronted by the reality of the self. This work is a true masterpiece and monument to Camus ideals and philosophies on the absurd.
I would further recomend that if the topic interested you that you should read his collected esseys entitled" The Rebel".

for more information click here

I know nothing of existentialism

I have never studied (or even once read about) existentialism and I read this book purely for pleasure. Without being in search of existentialist thought, like many frustrated students who gave this book a bad review may have been, I found it to be immensely well-written and simply a perfect little novel. Camus used fantastic sentence composition disguised by Meursault's (or perhaps translator Matthew Ward's) drollery while the simplicity of the events hid the absurdity of the story. I now consider the book a necessity of my own literary knowledge, especially being such a pleasantly quick read.

for more information click here

Camus' truths are 'Stranger' than fiction.

Nobel Prize winner, French author and philosopher, Albert Camus's (1913-1960) The Stranger (L'Étranger) (1942), tells the story of an alienated man, Meursault, who commits a murder and waits to be executed. The novel is set in Algeria, and opens with Meursault attending his mother's funeral where, in his resignation, he does not express any emotions. A few days before the funeral he helped a neighbor, Raymond Sintès, dismiss an Arab mistress. When the two are later confronted by the woman's brothers on a beach, Meursault shoots one of them, and then shoots the dead "Arab" four more times. "And it was like knocking four quick times on the door of unhgappiness" (p. 59). At his trial, lawyers take interest in Meursault's lack of emotion at his mother's funeral, and suggest he is incapable of remorse and, therefore, poses a danger to society. Consequently, he is sentenced to death. While waiting for his execution, a chaplain visits Meursault, and encourages him to turn to God. Mersault says he only has a little time left, and doesn't want to waste it on God. He instead opens himself "to the gentle indifference of the world . . . so like a brother, really" (pp. 122-23).

The story may be simple, but it has great philosophical depth. Whereas The Stranger is often referred to as an existential novel, Camus rejected any ideological associations, and stated, "No, I am not an existentialist. Sartre and I are always surprised to see our names linked." Nevertheless influenced to some extent by his friend, Jean-Paul Sartre's ideas, Camus' novel is based on his own philosophy of the absurd. There is no Truth, only relative truths. Truths in science (empiricism/rationality) and religion are ultimately meaningless. The only real things are those that we experience physically. Only after being tried and sentenced to death does Meursault acknowledge his own mortality and his responsibility for his own life. A powerful, highly-recommended classic.

G. Merritt

for more information click here

Interesting, but nothing earth-shaking

A man is punished and persecuted for taking life at face value. There's also a murder, and some beatings, and a really horrible case of animal abuse, but Camus's narrator takes it all in stride. A fact, that in the end, could kill him.
Unfortunately, the main character's nonchalance translates into the readers' boredom at times. There's nothing particularly astounding of fascinating in this novella, and some parts of it seem rather unrealistic. However, the book does have some interesting comments on life and priorities- particularly towards the end. And the narrator's eyes are an interesting pair to see through for a short while.

for more information click here

reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, page 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17

hot

not?

What's your opinion?

Write a review and share your thoughts!

recommendations

Never sleep again! Books better than your blanket!
English 525 "Existentialism and Literature"
Fifteen Genius Novels
soul soaring books
Semiology Circle

search for books
stranger

Impressum / about us