The Stranger

Books | Fiction / Literary

4.1

(6.6K)

Albert Camus

The masterpiece of Nobel Prize winner Albert Camus, now in a striking American English translation, The Stranger remains vital for its unsettling insights into the impossibility of moral certainty in the face of violence.“Matthew Ward has done Camus and us a great service. The Stranger is now a different and better novel for its American readers; it is now our classic as well as France’s.”—Chicago Sun-TimesSince it was first published in English, in 1946, Albert Camus’s first novel, The Stranger (L’etranger), has had a profound impact on millions of American readers. Through this story of an ordinary man who unwittingly gets drawn into a senseless murder on a sundrenched Algerian beach, Camus explored what he termed “the nakedness of man faced with the absurd.”Now, in this illuminating translation, extraordinary for its exactitude and clarity, the original intent of The Stranger is made more immediate. This haunting novel has been given a new life for generations to come.

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More Details:

Author

Albert Camus

Pages

144

Publisher

Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

Published Date

2012-08-08

ISBN

0307827666 9780307827661

Ratings

Google: 4

Community ReviewsSee all

"Full disclaimer: I had to read this for school so I didn’t seek this type of book out. I’m honestly shocked at how high the rating is because it was so weird. It wasn’t so much confusing, just a really odd plot and not particularly grasping."

Abby

"The way this book tackles the fact that life is both meaningful and meaningless 🧍‍♀️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️"

Ghostie Gal

"It was okay, more like 3.5/5 we started out strong but then it dried up "

Ann D

"So bored."

Kenzie Roberts

"At times this book can be boring but I think you just have to understand the overall meaning when you get to the ending. It’s a book that can be analyzed for class, but it’s one of the good ones."

Steve

"This is definitely a book I want to read again in the future. Some parts I really want to dissect and try to understand. This is a very philosophical and psychological book that just kept me intrigued. If you’re the type of person that enjoys trying to figure out why certain things happen and have always pondered the question “What is the meaning of life?”, this is for you. This book is unlike any book that I have ever read and is a great French literature classic."

Brianna Billos

"If the existentialists were nothing else they were excellent novelists which can be seen here and in Sartre's Roads to Freedom trilogy."

John M Frazier

"4.1⭐️ It was good. Made me think. It was a short book but took a bit longer than I expected but not because it was boring. Although some people may believe this book is pointless and boring I think otherwise. I didn’t understand some lines or sentences but it didn’t diminish the quality of the book. I think the title is supposed to describe the person we are reading about. Because in a way, he is obviously a stranger to us, yes we have gotten into his head, reading about his thoughts and feelings but do we really know him? I think not. I think to better understand the book I recommend studying a bit on absurdism but only because the book is based on facing absurdism not a necessity but a recommendation. (Absurdism means that life is illogical. According to Camus, we live in an erratic universe devoid of meaning. However, we seek a life with meaning and purpose. According to the absurdist viewpoint, there is a fundamental conflict between seeking and finding meaning.)"

Hien_Be

"I would give this a 3.5. I didn’t really understand it a whole lot. It felt like he became more aware and realistic in the second half and I liked that. He’s definitely an odd fella though!"