The Stranger Book Review

There are spoilers in this.

I really liked this book on a surface level. It was page-turning and entertaining yet satisfyingly thought provoking despite its short length - though I love short books… so I want to write my thoughts before and after I read the notes from experts on existentialism and absurdism and what Camus is trying to convey.

Before:

I idenitified alot with Meursault while reading this, thought its clear that his interactions with others are causing problems from the beginning. As the book goes on it gets worse and worse, and it starts to get frustrating. You understand his thought process as he freely explains it to you the reader, but never to any of the other characters. As he gets dragged down deeper into whatever impulses face him that day, from neglecting a proper burial process for his mother to like helping criminals (Raymond) and finally to murder, I became increasingly frustrated with him yet still felt strangely attached to him.

In the courtroom is perhaps the climax of this frustration as he is being asked to finally describe why he chose to act in the way he did and yet still he cannot see the point in it. At this point, I wish I could say that by then I had given up on him but I started reading faster than ever, hoping for some kind of salvation for him or closure to why he is the way he is.

The ending of the book from his discussion with the priest and his revelation and “rebirth” into being excited to accept life and the choices that can lead you down different paths was certainely interesting to me but I didn’t really “get it” until I read some expert analysis afterwards.

I think this character is so gripping because I identify with him. He is a part of my brain that questions why anything matters and why he should do anything at all. I have learned that he is right in some ways but wrong for several different reasons. Its no mistake that his actions excalate throughout the book - perhaps this is so that you can recognize Meursault in you and idenfity with him before seeing where it leads.

After:

It seems that Meursault is intentionally a charicature - an idea that Camus has explored many times before. This is perhaps a very well told story for exploring this idea. I was suprised by the alienation many readers seemed to feel with Meursault, that he was so physical and unfeeling that they were simply perplexed that he existed at all. I think that he is “more common” than most people choose to believe - even in themselves.

To explore him is to both acknowledge him and to learn why he doesn’t control your life or your fate - maybe this realization causes the warm excitement you get at the end of the book.

I also appreciate the overall tone with which the story was told. I think the fact that Camus includes much of Meursaults inner thoughts and makes him relatable rather than a monster highlights his opinion that society judges us too harshly on how well we fit into its own image - such as the necessity to cry at your mothers funeral. I think the message is that we know much less about people (strangers?) than our minds would generally have us believe. Pattern matching is not sufficient