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| The Stranger | 
 enlarge | Author: Albert Camus
Creator: Matthew Ward
Publisher: Vintage
Category: Book
List Price: $10.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  535 reviews
Sales Rank: 377
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 144
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.4
ISBN: 0679720200
Dewey Decimal Number: 843.914
EAN: 9780679720201
ASIN: 0679720200
Publication Date: March 13, 1989
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: not pretty, markings throughout, Ships Immediately
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Amazon.com Review
The Stranger is not merely one of the most widely read novels of the 20th century, but one of the books likely to outlive it. Written in 1946, Camus's compelling and troubling tale of a disaffected, apparently amoral young man has earned a durable popularity (and remains a staple of U.S. high school literature courses) in part because it reveals so vividly the anxieties of its time. Alienation, the fear of anonymity, spiritual doubt--all could have been given a purely modern inflection in the hands of a lesser talent than Camus, who won the Nobel Prize in 1957 and was noted for his existentialist aesthetic. The remarkable trick of The Stranger, however, is that it's not mired in period philosophy. The plot is simple. A young Algerian, Meursault, afflicted with a sort of aimless inertia, becomes embroiled in the petty intrigues of a local pimp and, somewhat inexplicably, ends up killing a man. Once he's imprisoned and eventually brought to trial, his crime, it becomes apparent, is not so much the arguably defensible murder he has committed as it is his deficient character. The trial's proceedings are absurd, a parsing of incidental trivialities--that Meursault, for instance, seemed unmoved by his own mother's death and then attended a comic movie the evening after her funeral are two ostensibly damning facts--so that the eventual sentence the jury issues is both ridiculous and inevitable. Meursault remains a cipher nearly to the story's end--dispassionate, clinical, disengaged from his own emotions. "She wanted to know if I loved her," he says of his girlfriend. "I answered the same way I had the last time, that it didn't mean anything but that I probably didn't." There's a latent ominousness in such observations, a sense that devotion is nothing more than self-delusion. It's undoubtedly true that Meursault exhibits an extreme of resignation; however, his confrontation with "the gentle indifference of the world" remains as compelling as it was when Camus first recounted it. --Ben Guterson
Product Description
Through the story of an ordinary man unwittingly drawn into a senseless murder on an Algerian beach, Camus explored what he termed "the nakedness of man faced with the absurd." First published in 1946; now in a new translation by Matthew Ward.
Book Description
Patrick McCarthy places The Stranger in the context of a French and French-Algerian history and culture, examines the way the work undermines traditional concepts of fiction, and explores the parallels (and more importantly the contrasts) between Camus and Sartre.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 530 more reviews...
 NOT WHAT IT APPEARS TO BE! January 2, 2009
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book is NOT Camus's "The Stranger"! It is a literary review of the work, and NOT the work itself. If you are looking to read Camus's "The Stranger" DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK! I feel that Amazon should refund/not charge for those who buy this book thinking they are going to read Camus!
NOT CAMUS "THE STRANGER" NOT NOT NOT!
 Strong and Inspiring December 25, 2008
Matthew Ward's translation provides a better reading experience than Stuart Gilbert's; nuances, subtleties and other details of character and dialogue are mixed and seasoned better into the broth of the story, a story about Meursault, a man alone but not lonely, who views with dispassion the alternating streams of tenderness and brutality that form human experience. His earthly incarnation seems only a vehicle through which to observe, to keenly catch fine points of gesture and expression in a context of non-judgment. And so he can view with equal dissociation the brutal mistreatment of an intimate partner and the play of the setting sunlight on street scenes below his apartment window. For Meursault, each is a series of fascinating images created by the impersonal, moving physicality of the universe.
I enjoyed the novel and have enormous respect for Camus' talent in translating sharp observations into stimulating prose. But in my own writing I chose an abrupt departure from one aspect of Camus' character: likeability. Meursault, though fascinating, interesting, and intellectually engaging, doesn't feel, doesn't empathize, doesn't cry, and so I'm challenged to truly like him. Despite this, Camus has given us a readable, instructive, engaging and provocative novel that forms a literary nexus between fiction and philosophy. I read it twice.
I've Been Meaning to Read... The Stranger December 22, 2008
The Stranger by Albert Camus is one of those books that has been on my "To Read List" as long as I've had a to-do list for reading. I never got around to reading it, and it's only because my Great Books Group is reading it for January that I finally sat down and read it. I confess I don't fully grasp existentialism, and my lack of knowledge often presents itself as a reason for me to avoid reading books closely associated with it. Even the fact that it is only about 120 pages long did not convince me to read it by my own choice.
As The Stranger was a Great Books reading assignment, my reasons for avoiding it became moot. I had to read it because we will be discussing it in a few weeks. Here is what I discovered.
The Stranger can be read in one sitting -- maybe two. This I promise: read the first page -- no, the first line -- and you'll be hooked. The short, succinct sentences of the first part of the book engrossed me. And the apparent change in writing style for the last part of the book did not deter me. Overall, the plot is keeps the reader engaged to the last word. The Stranger played in my head like a movie.
I used the translation from the French to English by Matthew Ward, Vintage Books, Random House. Albert Camus (1913-1960) is the Algerian born, French speaking writer and recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature. Translator Matthew Ward imparts a distinctly American quality to the work, and makes The Stranger very readable while keeping it true to the original.
To suggest you will be hooked reading The Stranger is not the same as asserting you will understand the work. (Maybe you will have a complete understanding. I have yet to reach that point!) I enjoyed the experience of reading The Stranger, and yet I will bring to the discussion questions about the motives of Meursault (the main character) and I want to discuss Meursault's "inactions" as well. You can forget about existentialism when you read this novel; you will not need it to enjoy the book.
For your reading experience, try to find a quiet place where you are less likely to be interrupted. (I know, this seems nearly impossible with job, family, etc., but the ability to concentrate uninterrupted will improve your reading experience immensely.) Though The Stranger is only about 120 pages, it contains tightly packed prose that can act as a movie, making you more of an observer than a reader. The Stranger illustrates an important type of literature, one with which I'm intimately familiar: literature that is complex, not easily discernible, and yet provides an exceptionally fulfilling reading experience. This novel, like other classics, will be more admired with subsequent readings.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Well worth reading.
One of the last truly timeless works of fiction in the world. December 22, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
The theme of a universe formed by the absurd and incomprehensible--a universe and its societies that claims to respect and embrace truth, impassive justness, and simplicity, yet, at the same time, condemns people that personify and act as paragons for such ideals, thrusting them into a life of ignominy--this theme has not been lost since 'The Stranger' made its first appearance; and, I dare say, in this world of reemerging religious idealism in the form of Evangelical Christianity in America, Islamic terrorism throughout the world, manipulation and adulteration of Buddhist principles in Burma, pious clashes in Darfur, equally idealistic atheism/secularism--I dare say that the message is still as relevant as when first presented, if not more so. Camus's impassive yet passionate forthrightness on our world and universe's absurdity has not, nor will it ever, fall upon disconnected ears.
Simple on the Surface.......But Not Simple December 21, 2008
"The Stranger" is one of those novels that operates on multiple levels. On the surface, it is the brief story of Meursault, a man who attends his mother's funeral, meets a new girlfriend, goes to work, helps a neighbor get revenge on a bad girlfriend, then ends up murdering a man and going to jail and trial. It is an easy to read little book written/translated in an efficient Hemingwayesque style. In some ways, not much happens. In other ways, quite a lot happens. But throughout, the reader keeps wondering just where the story is going
On the next level, the book is about Meursault's existentialist view of life. From his point of view, everything that happens to him simply happens. When his mother dies...she dies. If his girlfriend wants to get married, it is ok...they can. If his boss transfers him to Paris, so be it. If incarcerated, he will pass the time studying stones or watching the sky. If he is sentenced to death....well, he dies. Nothing is important. Nothing really matters.
There are other levels as well, including one in which the story is an allegory for the European imperialist presence in Africa. And so on.....
I was intrigued by this book. Though short and easy to read, it provides a wealth of food for thought and discussion. It is not, however, an uplifting book. And frankly, I remain unsure about exactly why this book earned Camus a Nobel Prize.
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