Albert Camus - The Stranger
 

I read this book in 3 and a half hours.
it started out decently well and then......


overall i did not enjoy the book.


and you! did you care to read it?

Re: Albert Camus - The Stranger
 

i've not read it since i was 15, when it was on my french exam reading list. it wasn't very easy to really grasp with only basic french, i have to say - and not really understanding the subtle nuances of french/algerian society in the 1950's didn't make it any easier!

small fact - camus used to be a goalkeeper!

Re: Albert Camus - The Stranger
 

One of my all time favorite pieces of literature. What about it didn't you like?!?

Re: Albert Camus - The Stranger
 

wow - this is really weird

A friend of mine, the other day "urged" me to read this book, b/c she noticed Jake Gilenhal (sp?) reading it in "Jarhead" - and she had forgotten about this book. She bought a spare copy and immediately gave it to me

I read it pretty much in one sitting (airport layover)

I loved the book, although - I feel like I need to reread the ending part where he's yelling at the priest. It was funny, though how most of the arguments my g/f and I have are basically that I can tend to act overly non-chalant, like the main character is during the first half of the novel (like saying he didn't love his g/f, etcv etc)

Re: Albert Camus - The Stranger
 

unless you have a pretty solid understanding of Camus' 'The Myth of Sisyphus', as well as absurdism and existentialism (think Jean-Paul Sartre), The Stranger' prolly seems pointless.

ultimately the story is a kind of existential allegory. it's up to man to choose the meaning of his existence. he's entirely responsible for his facticty, and can make no excuses for his actions.

that sort of stuff.

along with 'The Myth of Sisyphus' this book's a good primer for Camus' canon.


:)

Re: Albert Camus - The Stranger
 

You enjoyed that didn't you? ;)

While all of that is true, my level of appreciating the book is more simple and immediate. For me the book is more visceral and sensory. asking questions about how meaningful, how rich and deep any sensory experience can take our existence by the hand and walk into a sense of life meaning.

I enjoyed saying that too :D

Re: Albert Camus - The Stranger
 

actually i was pretty bored with/while typing that out.

nothing i said really indicated to any degree my own appreciation of the book. i just thought that pointing out a few of it's "academic" qualities might help a few here grasp what Camus set out to "do" with the story.

and that's awesome you enjoyed it. i quite like the little book as well, but 'The Myth of Sisyphus' is better IMO.

i'm a psychology/philosophy double major, so Camus, absurdism, etc. is rudimentary fare. (i quite enjoyed typing that out).

:)

Re: Albert Camus - The Stranger
 

Listen to 'Killing An Arab' by The Cure.

Re: Albert Camus - The Stranger
 

Anyway I think all you said was true, but IMHO, camus' books don't need to be littered with foot notes to existentialist essays. (That would be more like Sartre.) I think they are more complete in themselves. Which is good news for those who don't want absurdism to be a rudimentary musing. Which is to say it shouldn't seem pointless, but hey there's always room for taste.

More immediate books might be the plague or the fall. check them out if the stranger didn't catch ya

Re: Albert Camus - The Stranger
 

good call, man