 2008-10-25 - Shocking in its Simplicity
The Stranger is one of those nobel-prize-winnnig books you see mentioned every now and then, but you don't know if you'll really ever read it yourself. It's such a simple story, but it's so profound and thought-provoking. Basically, a guy kills another guy in self defense and goes to trial over it. That's really all there is to the story. But what makes it so thought-provoking is the personality of the guy. He sends his mother to a nursing home, doesn't cry at her funeral, smokes a cigarette and drinks a cup of coffee immediately after the funeral, and gets a new girl friend the day after the funeral. This makes him suspect. The mob thinks that maybe he has no feelings. They think that maybe he's an awful man that isn't fit to be in public. They think that maybe the murder wasn't in self-defense after all. It's scary to me that people could think a man is a callous monster just based on the feelings a guy did or didn't have for their mother. What's the real line between civilized and savage? Is a person not civilized just because they are less demonstrative about their emotions than most people? Is it a crime to sleep with a girl you just met just because your mother was put in the ground the day before? It's just shocking to see how small of a thing can demonize a person in the eyes of a mob. I think, however, that the most shocking thing to me about this book was to realize that in 1942 France, the death penalty was still beheading by guillotine.
 2008-10-12 - One of the best books ever written.
I was told by a really good friend of mine to read this book. Looking in a bookstore on vacation, I came across it. It was cheap so I bought it, not really knowing anything about the story or what I was getting into. But I trust my friend's judgment, so I went ahead and read all of 'The Stranger' this afternoon. WOW is all I can say. The language and storytelling is so simple, so effective, that I got wrapped up in the world that Camus was engaging me in.
It reads like Salinger's 'The Catcher in the Rye', at least in my opinion. He tells the story so clearly. It's one of the most concise books I've ever read. It is quite depressing, but you oddly feel sorry for, and relate to the main character. I feel an odd sense of hope after reading it, and for people that hated it, I can't see what they're talking about. The story will engulf you and not let go until the end. Highly recommended!
2008-09-03 - American translation brings out stylistic subtleties
(This is a review of the Matthew Ward translation; black an dwhite cover)
This is a newish translation, done by an American rather than the British translation that had previously been the only English version of this French classic. It seems Camus was heavily influenced by American literature of the period -- Hemmingway, Faulkner and others -- and had written The Stranger, the first half especially, to reflect those stylistic sensibilities. The translator argues in his forward that much of that was lost in the British translation. And so here, it is restored.
The result is a matter-of-fact tone more in keeping with our unlikable protagonist, the distant, somewhat bitter Meursault. His almost emotionless life and anti-social tone are stark and ugly, traits that drag him beneath the waves when he is put on trial for murder. As always, The Stranger is compelling reading, but also frustrating, because it is so impossible to care for the main character in the final chapters.
Camus' timeless classic remains as essential today as it was when released, while this new translation gets us a bit closer to the stylistic approach he allegedly wanted. Essential reading.
2008-08-25 - Oh, the absurdity!
Oh, what does it matter if I write a review about this book or if I don't write a review about this book? Nothing will change. It won't have any affect on anything. In 100 years, I'll be dead, and what difference would it have made if I gave a writeup, or I didn't?
Is anyone ever actually going to read my opinion? And if they do, does my opinion really matter, on a cosmic, macro level? The world will keep on turning, and the sun will keep on burning, and the universe will keep....universing.
It doesn't even matter if you read this book or you don't; if you like it or you don't. It's just an abstract story about a guy, that never actually happened. Not that it would matter even if it had.
2008-08-19 - Perfect
I think to say some one doesn't like some one because they can't REALLY grasp/understand it is one of the most arrogant things some one can do, usually; but in this case its necessary. The Stanger is nothing short of life-changing. Simple fact. People that don't admit it are either too stupid, too jealous, or too afraid to come to terms with it.
I say too afraid because of the implications of a philosophy so obviously true. I say too jealous because most of this book seems like things a lot of people think but never end up saying and, well, getting so much credit for. And I say stupid because this book is great and screw them.
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