With the intrigue of a psychological thriller, Camus’s masterpiece gives us the story of an ordinary man unwittingly drawn into a senseless murder on an Algerian beach. Behind the intrigue, Camus explores what he termed “the nakedness of man faced with the absurd” and describes the condition of reckless alienation and spiritual exhaustion that characterized so much of twentieth-century life. … twentieth-century life.
First published in 1946; now in translation by Matthew Ward.
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If I have to name one book which changed my way of viewing the world it would be this book. It was published as “The Insider” when I read it first and the theories this book brings out via fiction have haunted my sense of reality ever since. The book shakes your soul and in that really pushes you to question your existence. This book propelled me …
Like a great painting, I admire this work of art even without understanding all its layers of meaning. I found it to be an elegant story set in an exotic time and place that made me think about the world a bit differently.
Classic. Beautifully written. I read it in French which is more powerful than the English translation. It is a bit depressing though.
A strange book about a strange character….
Or maybe not so strange. Mersault is indifferent and alienated, yet still very human. And, when living with him through these pages, one can´t help but reflect on oneself, and on one´s look on life.
Very much worth a read.
Classic philosophical piece about the absurdity of existence. it questions religion and morality.
Camus is not somebody you ought to read now, during a pandemic, if you want clear reassurances. The Meursault character he created for this book is a little like the Harvey Pekar character from American Splendor or the Bartleby character from Melville’s short story. Meursault is a deeply frustrated person out of step with his own time and place. …
Thought provoking
I relate to this book and felt a connection with it. Great book to read.
An existential classic which naggingly asks, how am I so different from Meursault?
I remember loving it so much when I read it in French that I then read it in English. It was required in my French class in college. Unfortunately that was so long ago that I don’t remember much about it except for a few quotes. Time to read it again!
Too deep and murky for me
I read this in high school and loved it. To me, it feels like a “prequel” to Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man.”
Beautifully written, short book, sad story.
A very thought provoking read.
Required reading.
A classic.
Read this book weeks ago and I am still thinking about it!
A book that unveils the banal absurdity of modern life through a main character that has devolved into a husk of of person. An easy read that is bewildering in its implicit sullenness. As we crowd each other more and more it is easy to see why more people have he inhumanity of the protagonist in this story.
I had to read it in college for a French class, so I wanted to see, if my opinion has changed. I still find it absurd, that someone thinks this is a great book, so mission accomplished by the author, who wants to show the absurdity of life. 🙂
Tragic, Kafkian, indelible, fatalistic