The Outsider

Albert Camus has been my favorite author for a while, and i had almost every single one of his books besides this one. I went ahead and bought it, and im very glad i did. This is a somewhat short book, 110 pages, which is perfect for any slow readers or people with not very long attention spans (like me.) I was able to read it in about an hour. Anyways, it has a ton of interesting ideas and definitely makes my top 10 list of books. Came in perfect condition, and one of my smarter purchases on amazon. I highly recommend if you’re into philosophy and stuff :)

I am reading this after seeing it referenced by someone else. I have no pre-conceived expectations. I am about half way through and still waiting for the big "tell"....nothing so far.. but I will admit I am not he brightest literary candle on the metaphorical cake ( Pastry...? It iS French after all...write?) [That was intended by the way...] SO.. until I finish it.. I am at a loss as to properly comment on the context, sub-context, and existential value .... if there is such a "thing"ciao ciao

the simplicity of style shows the simplicity of life and how human beings are prone to turn this simple fact in a tortuous one.Through a simple crime the reader travels to the prison that only us avoiding emotions use to feel chained and remain in that sombre prison . The clear advice to let free emotions to have a real life is what we get by the last page. To read more than once. The more you read the more you find

A much needed translation update for a well loved book which will make you see the relationships and thought processes with even greater insight and therefore provide much more intense intellectual experience and resultant satisfaction. Read Camus work again alongside the recently published counterpoint book: "The Muersault Investigation" by Kamel Daoud, a writer from Algeria.

The Stranger is a classic piece of literature by now. Is Meursault convicted of an Arab's murder because he didn't mourn his mother's death?Decide for yourself.

The clarity of elegance of inspired experiment!

Really nice book.

interesting idea

L'Etranger, the first novel by Albert Camus is always very well worth reading, but it has to be admitted that this Penguin edition, translated by Sandra Smith has to be the best English translation on the market, showing a better awareness of certain nuances between French and English. So, if you cannot read French then this is the edition to go for.First published in 1942 this was not a big hit, in fact it did rather poorly although it was much appreciated. This was to change when Sartre wrote about it, and since then this has come on to be something that many have read throughout the world. Here then we meet Meursault who when this opens has just received a message that his mother has died. Thus he has to make arrangements quickly to get to the home she was in as the funeral is held quickly due to the heat of Algeria.Returning back home after the funeral, so he carries on as normal, going to work, and meeting a woman he used to work with, and forming a relationship. From there he helps a friend and ends up shooting a man, although we are never really given any reason for this by Meursault, who does seem to be someone who has a certain deadness when it comes to expressing different emotions. Indeed we only ever see him get angry once in this short novel, and that is near the end.Being prosecuted for the killing, so he is incarcerated with a death sentence hanging over him. What will happen though? As Meaursault realises, his not crying at his mother’s funeral seems to have more bearing on his crime than the actual killing itself. Camus really brings to life the absurdism of life and all the elements of his philosophy in this book, which will make you think and also laugh. After all, one of his neighbours has a dog who he always moans and complains about, but when it goes missing is devastated.Since this was first published it has caused much debate and many papers on various aspects have been written, it has also influenced many and it has to be admitted is a joy to read. In all then if you want to read about alienation and not conforming, then this is a must have.

The title of this modern French classic has been translated to English variously as “The Stranger” or “The Outsider”. As translator Sandra Smith explained in this 2012 Penguin edition, the notions of outsiderness, foreignness and strangeness connoted by the French word, “etranger” are encapsulated in the concept of the outsider that fully describes the protagonist, Meursault. He is “a stranger to himself, an outsider to society and a foreigner because he is a Frenchman in Algeria”.What is striking about Meursault immediately as the book opens is his reaction to the news of his mother’s death at an old folks’ home. He deals with it practically in terms of work and travel arrangements, and views the wake and funeral as necessary events to be tolerated. He is seemingly detached and unemotional throughout, but in his narration he is acutely sensitive to his physical surroundings and their impact on him, and he seems aware of how others may find this odd when he acknowledges in the second part of the book, that “physical sensation often got in the way of my emotions”.A spectator more than a participant in his own life, he often observes others’ behaviour and responds accordingly, though he is taciturn and coldly logical. Emotionally detached even when accepting the prospects of marriage with Marie, an ex-colleague he is physically attracted to but does not love, Meursault is nonetheless unflinchingly honest about his own feelings or lack of it. Because he is logical and non-judgemental, and is just vaguely interested in people and the problems they have in a clinical way, he soon draws the attention and friendship of an unpopular neighbour, Raymond, who is something of a cad and womaniser.Although the novel is very short, Camus gets under Meursault’s skin and builds up this complex character very quickly. Mersault may be odd in his views and actions, but he is ordinary enough to function in society, until he becomes tragically entwined in a series of chance events and relationships that eventually lead him to commit a grievous crime.At what point does someone who does not quite play by the conventional rules of society become a sociopath? Is there really providence for individual autonomy? Although he eventually comes face to face with his own mortality, Meursault asserts his rights and proclaims: “I have lived my life a certain way when I could have lived it another way. I had done one thing when I might have done something else. What difference did it make?”A profound and engaging work.

This short but well-written book provides a thought provoking existentialist consideration of the value of life and death through the eyes of Meursault. His detachment from life, inability to form strong emotional attachments to others and lack of remorse for a crime committed out of pure amorality play at least as significant a part in his subsequent trial as the act of violence itself - a fact which Camus contrives Meursault to accept and the reader to regret.I liked the short direct sentences of this powerful first person account, which dislocate the reader from Meursault, cleverly replicating his isolation from the other characters. For me part of the satisfaction of Camus's treatment of his theme was the journey of discovery that Meursault and the reader undertake together, since it is only towards the end of the novel, when Meursault finally discovers the value of his own life, that the reader gets to know the narrator.This is my first exposure to Camus - and won't be my last.

A while back I decided to read books that Kim Nam Joon from BTS has been seen either reading or recommending. I have made some progress and so far all the books have been so amazing and eye-opening. It really shows his headspace and how he thinks about the world and the people within it.This book follows Meursault who is a foreigner in Algeria but more importantly he has held stranger to himself and the society. He did not conform to societal standards and emotional displays. When his mother died in a nursing home he could not express the emotions expected of him and that seems to be a nail in his coffin in the future. When he finds himself in a situation that results in him killing a man and even ending on the chopping block, he felt no regret. Nothing.This translation has a sentence that holds the critical point in the book and encapsulates Meursault whole being. He who had always maintained an indifference to the world finally releases his anger and I quote"This great release of anger had purged me of evil, emptied me of hope; and standing before this symbolic night bursting with stars, I opened myself for the first time to the tender indifference of the world"All I really want to know is, was he killed? or did he get a successful retrial.

I first read Camus when I was 16/17 - many long decades ago. Looking back, I likely had no idea what it was all about, no real idea of existentialism, but something in the text appealed to me and has stayed with me during my life.No longer having any of the books I bought in my youth, I was eager to buy this and read it through again. This time I did understand the text, this time I was totally gripped by the intensity of the "non-action", and fully understood the main character.Camus has made an excellent job of illustrating how societies, in general, have preconceptions and anyone who does not conform to those preconceptions are clearly an alien species and are to be treated as such. Is Meursault a criminal? Is Meursault the victim of this novel? Or is Meursault simply wanting to live his life in his own way without being disturbed? For those who have not read this novel I will give no response to these questions, and given how short the novel is, I won't give any kind of precis or critique. Suffice to say, after many decades of not reading Camus, I was not disappointed at all when I returned to this book.