Rating: 
Summary: Confusing and Depresing
Review: I had to read this book for a test I am having in Honors English tomorrow. The book made no sense and was all out depressing. I don't know why anybody would want to read it let alone deem it as a classic.
Rating: 
Summary: novelist or philosopher
Review: Camus in my mind is a phenominal storyteller. Though most would like to label him as a philosopher, Camus sparkles as a novelist. It may be his tone or apathy, I cannot yet tell, but this work is a guarenteed enjoyment. A life of apathy is not one to be lived by all, but if you ever had the urge to sit around doing nothing but couldn't take time out of your busy day, live vicariously through Mersault, the main caracter in this apathetic novel. I don't want to ruin the plot, so I'll just say that it will leave you thinking.
Rating: 
Summary: The role of honesty in society
Review: Meursault, the protagonist of Camus's "The Stranger," is a forthright man living in a society that insists on putting up facades, which he is unable or unwilling to do. He would just like to "be." His troubles begin when he learns that his mother has died and attends her funeral, showing no remorse for having been inattentive to her during her final years. Through a series of events, he arrives at a situation where he murders a man on a beach, an action seemingly provoked only by the sun. The tone of the book is such that Meursault is not meant to be judged for his actions, just observed. The supreme irony of "The Stranger" is that Meursault is as honest as a person can be, yet it's because of this honesty that he is ultimately punished. The problem (or is it a problem?) is that Meursault is honest not only about what he does but about what he feels. Society's sense of decency is offended by the fact that he would not show any emotions at his mother's funeral and shortly after would go swimming and see a movie with his girlfriend rather than spend some time in mourning. His prosecutors in the murder trial use these acts as evidence to establish his character in the minds of the jurors as callous and decadent. Like Franz Kafka's "The Trial," "The Stranger" questions the individual's ability to control his own fate, with the additional idea that one person's fate is no more or less preordained than another's. Meursault acknowledges that he had lived his life one way and yet could have lived another just as well: Does it really matter?
Rating:
Summary: A dangerous book!
Review: If we set the reference point of judging books on the effect that they have on the readers life then this book is the book of all books. I read this book when I was 20 years old as a freshman. I was still searching for the meaning of life (still do) , my place in the world and also a light at the end of the tunel that I could follow. And man, what a blast..... It took me half a year to overcome it. I lost interest in life, I became so passive and numb that nothing really mattered. I almost dropped out of school. Camus book reveiled to me that there are really no answers out there, no purpose , no treatment and for that reason NO ACTION should be taken. All of our agonies and strugles for the truth of our existence that we desperetaly radiate to our universe just simply bounce back. There is noone out there to answer.And for that reason our existence itself has no meaning. It is absurd (paralogos in Greek) ! I guess I took every word of the book literally. Now, after many years from the first reading I have come to terms with the absurdity of life, I know that there is nothing that I can do, but at least I will try to live a good life whatever that means. The book in retrospect made me a little bit wiser but I cant afford to follow it. It is self destructing. So be careful with this book, it could be a time bomb. That is the magnitude of its brilliance. A masterpiece.
Rating:
Summary: Good book, but below my expectations
Review: "the stranger" is OK, more, a great novel. However, i expected more form a nobel prize. In a book labeled as "existentialist", (as this one) the book quality is strongly related to the personality of the main character. That's beacuse most of the book is composed by thoughts of the protagonist or his feelings towards somebody or something. Meursault (this book's main character) is complex and interesting, however, in my opinion is far from reaching the deepness of other famous characters such as Dostoievsky's Raskolnikov; Hesse's: Emil Sinclair or Harry Heller; or even the one from Sabato's "the tunnel". Meursault is portrayed as somebody who doesn't have much feelings towards anybody or anything. Inside him there are no internal conflicts or doubts or questions about something. That's Ok, Camus makes it interesting anyway...Good book, definetely worth reading, but forgetable in some degree.
Rating:
Summary: Beauty of briefness.
Review: This is one of the better works of existentialist fictions, as Camus illustrates the absurdity and senselessness that we meet in life without shoving overblown philosophical tenets in the reader's face. With deft subtlety and conciseness, Camus manages to say so much in 100 pages, and from a literary standpoint, is much more enjoyable than Sartre's "Nausea." I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Dragged by the Flow?
Review: That's what Mersault (the main character) seems to do. He just lets thing happen. "The story of an ordinary man who unwittingly commits murder?" No." The story of a man who unwittingly wakes up, walks on the streets, helps a friend, eats, drinks..." Committing a murder is just a detail. This is about a man whose indifference about the word makes him either too different or too ordinary. Depends on how you look at it. Things happen. You don't want to miss this book.
Rating:
Summary: Camus' Classic Masterpiece of the Absurd
Review: A Classic novel of the absurd condition of man with a glorious ending: The Stranger, along with several other of Camus' works, such as The Plague, are the reason why Camus won the Nobel Prize and will live for ever as an existential genius. The simple plot of this book and masterful writing provides the reader with both obvious meaning and deep insights into the very nature of man's existence. Camus is one author every person who has ever asked "Why?" should have on his/her self, and The Stranger is widely considered one of his greatest works, as well as one of the greatest works of all-time.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful demonstration of existentialist thought
Review: The Stranger served as my introduction to the world of existentialist thought. Since that time, I have read nothing with a similar emotional span or philosophical foundation. Camus creates the timeless dilemma in humanity - the questioning of our own existence. On this, no answers are provided. However, Camus allows us to explore our own reasons for being as we follow the mundane life of the strange Monsieur Meursault.
Rating:
Summary: "I hope the dogs don't bark tonight"
Review: Camus' work is altogether phenomenal, but this book did something extra for me. The Cure even made a song about it. Meursault is one of the most intruiging characters i've ever come in contact with. The death of his mother, the love that his "girlfriend" Marie showed towards him, and his own crime never moved Meursault to express or acknowledge any remorse or loving. Camus wrote this in first person, so it was fabulous to be able to 'read through the eyes of this so-called madman. Meursault was persecuted for being misundertood and unremourseful, displaying the only "human" qualities he knew of/cared to express. Camus did a stunning, everlasting job with this character and novel.
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