The Stranger

Rating:
Summary: Existentialism or Condemnation?
Review: Camus' own summary on the book lies in this phrase "...J'ai résumé L'Étranger, il y a longtemps, par une phrase dont je reconnais qu'elle est très paradoxale : 'Dans notre sociéte tout homme qui ne pleure pas à l'enterrement de sa mère risque d'être condamné à mort.". Translated this means that in our society all men who do not cry at their mother's funeral risk to be condemned to death. Of course the death that Camus refers to is not physical death but rather spiritual death. The spiritual death that arrives because of the struggle for idividual survival. Humans are so involved in personal survival that neglect what might be considered important and humane. That is why Camus has said that ""L'absurde naît de la confrontation de l'appel humain avec le silence déraisonnable du monde.". The absurd (in this case the actions of Meursault) is a result of the confronation of a human cry with the indifference of the world. The world did not care about Mersault before the murder but it condemns him for it.
The story revolves around this character (Meursault) who at his mother's funeral shows an indifferent attitude. Sitting on one side of the coffin he feels as if he is at a courtroom since all his mother's friends are sitting across from him. There is no grief that he feels, an attitude that he carries with him throughout his life. The same picture takes place at the end when he is sitting in front of a jury being judged after he has murdered a man for no apparent reason. He makes no apologies for his behavior because he finds no fault in his behavior. He is the sole judge of his actions and to him they are justified.
One think to consider is that this man is not a hypocrite. His indifference is evident in all aspects of his life and he never claims to be something that he is not. He is the product of the society that he lives in, so deep down I think that Camus with this book does not seek to condemn this man but rather the society that produces and promotes these emotions. Many people go through life as hypocrites and in essence they are not better than Meursault. Meursault defined his path based on his own views of morality and proper behavior which can be as correct as the ones of society in general.

Rating:
Summary: Unsettling book; uncomfortable translation
Review: Without a doubt one of the most important books of the 20th century, The Stranger is a classic piece of literature and one of the literary pillars of existentialism, a movement that continues to color the way we see the world.

The storyline is very simple: a young and aimless Algerian immigrant to France, Meursault, unmoved by his mother's death, becomes involved in petty events beyond his control and ends up killing someone. The trial is a ridiculous farce, and the real art comes from the way Meursault dispassionately describes the events overtaking him: the funeral, the trial, the sentencing. The story is at once beautiful and unsettling.

Of course, none of this is anything that hasn't already been said among the other reviews here. What prompted me to write a review about this now (after all, I had first read this story more than 20 years ago and have only re-read parts of it recently) is the new and much-heralded translation from Matthew Ward. Mr. Ward's work has been almost universally praised by critics, who have called it an essential update and a production that will make the book more accessible to American audiences.

That may be so, but I can't escape the feeling that it also cheapens this great book. I realize that some traditionalists will always accuse a modern translator of a classic piece of literature of tampering with art. But even if I keep that in mind as I read The Stranger in its newest form, I still get that sinking feeling.

Take the opening paragraph, for example. I have always considered the opening lines in The Stranger among the best in the western literary cannon, and they seem to lose firepower in Mr. Ward's version of the story: "Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe. I don't know. I got a telegram from the home: 'Mother deceased. Funeral tomorrow. Faithfully yours.' That doesn't mean anything. Maybe it was yesterday."

Compare that to the classic Stuart Gilbert translation that is familiar to most English speakers to have read this book: "Mother died today. Or, maybe, yesterday; I can't be sure. The telegram from the Home says: 'Your mother passed away. Funeral tomorrow. Deep sympathy.' Which leaves the matter doubtful; it could have been yesterday."

Don't the short and choppy sentences of the telegram contrast strongly to the emotionless as-a-matter-of-fact narrative from Meursault in the second example? And isn't that lost in the newer version when both Meursault and the telegram have the same tone? The Meursault from Mr. Ward's translation always talks that way, giving the impression that he actually puts a bit of thought into what should be his dispassionate commentary, rather than just speaking in meandering run-on sentences as someone simply going through the motions would (and the way author Albert Camus described Meursault in later years).

Also, who is Maman? I'm not sure I would recognize the word as a form of "mother" if I weren't already familiar with the story.

In sum, the value of The Stranger is beyond doubt. But consider the issue of the translations strongly, and, if possible, consider one of the older translations that create a story closer to what I believe Mr. Camus intended and not something that may have been crafted to subtly reshape the story for modern audiences.

Rating:
Summary: One of the top 10 novels of the last century
Review: A brilliant novel worth everyones attention, Albert Camus "The Stranger" is, in my opinion, one of the greatest stories ever written. A short read, this story of a man of indifference living along the Algerian coast packs quite a punch. You may be infuriated by the main characters lack of emotion, even when he's killing another human being, but the themes that it touches on are fascinating. The book evokes emotions that are rarely felt when reading other literature, and it has one of the greatest final sentences ever. I loved every line of this book, and it has motivated me to seek out more work by Albert Camus.

Rating:
Summary: The Stranger - A Worthwhile read
Review: The Stranger is a quick read about a man who is condemned by the fact that he is different. The society around him, and unfortunately many who simply read the book, do not even try to understand him.

He appears to be an emotionles man without morals, yet upon closer inspection it is seen that it is not that he has no morals or emotions, it is just that his interpretation of the world is different.

Though he commited a murder, the trial ends up being more about him as an individual, and in this respect it is unjust. They refuse to try to understand him, even though he tries repeatedly to explain himself. In a rampage toward the chaplain, Meursault wonders, "Couldn't he see?"

This is a sad story about the narrowmindedness of society and the unfortunate individual who gets caught up in it.

Rating:
Summary: The Meaningless Life of Meursault
Review: This book was about a man who has a very negatvie out look on life. It starts out with Meursault attending his mother's funeral. His demeanor at the funeral concerns many of his mothers friends and later on in the book it comes back to haunt him. The day after Meursualt's mother's funeral the two go out for a fun day at the pool and movies. This also contributes to his downfall. Many events in this novel happen but necessarily dont need to. Most of the trouble in the book was brought on by Meursault. The people he asscociates himself with and the influence they have on him make this man more and more corrupt. Raymond, his neighbor, is the biggest person involved with his trouble. He gets Meausault into business he didnt even need to know. And when he attends a beach house with Raymond he does something he will regret, he kills a man. This one event destroys the life of Meursault and any hope he would have. He is condemned to die and spends endless nights in prison thinking of life outside the bars. I feel sorry for Meursault for the life he has lived even though he brought most of it on himself. This book was alright to read and I would recommend it to anyone who likes to read suspensful and ironic books.

Rating:
Summary: Don't Even Waste Your Time
Review: If you are looking for a book to put you to sleep, look no further. Here it is. This is the most pathetic book I have ever read. And not only was the book boring, the main character, Meursault, was an emotionless, hopless, and disgusting human being. His views on women and relationships are no less than vile. He does not even remorse over the death of his mother. He then says that he no emotional attachment to Marie, the lady that he is sexually active with. Thankfully, he commits a cold blooded murder and is put to death. And at his execution, he says that he wishes there be "howls of execration." It is amazing to me that an individual can want there to be people cursing him on the day of his death. Bottom line, this is not woth the time for you to sit down and read it.

Rating:
Summary: no
Review: I was forced to read this book and I still hate my teacher for it. Its about about a man who doesn't care about his mother dying, he doesn't seem to care that he hung around the wrong crowd and killed a man in self defense and he ends up paying for his carelessness. Good for him. I am still angry that I had to read this crap.

Rating:
Summary: Great work, dubious translation. Check out Stuart Gilbert's.
Review: Any serious reading of this book should be accompanied with a cursory study of existentialism. Otherwise, you may fall into the same doom-and-gloom interpretations that other reviewers on this page have suffered. (Any basic introduction or primer on existentialism will do.) After learning about existentialism, any careful reader will find that this novel is intensely optimistic; it posits hope and self-determination for mankind.

This new Vintage translation by Matthew Ward is, I hear, more accurate and faithful to the original French. However, for decades, English-speaking readers have depended on the translation by Stuart Gilbert, which Vintage Press used to carry and has since discontinued. Gilbert's translation is, I believe, more poetic and faithful to the spirit of Camus's prose, if less accurate than Ward's. The introduction by Ward to this new edition outlines some interesting problems of Gilbert's translation as well as his own approach. (One point of consternation, however, is that the paragraph breaks are different between the two translations; one wonders who took more liberties. Anyone who is familiar with the originial French version could do us all a favor and make a posting here to let us know.)

Stuart's translation, as Ward points out in his introduction is more British English, while Ward's own translation has a very American feel to it. In fact, Ward's translation has been adopted by several publishers, one of which laments the fact that the only edition available to English-reading readers was in British English, as though this were some sort of insurmountable obstacle for American readers. In fact, the Stuart Gilbert translation is very accessible for American-English readers. The Gilbert translation flows naturally and as one would imagine Camus writing in if his native language were English. The hyper-American Matthew Ward translation, on the other hand, seems to be thumpingly dedicated to sounding like late 20th century American English, the use of "Maman" in place of Gilbert's "Mother" notwithstanding.

While I prefer Gilbert's, I feel that one should read both translations to get a full exposure to Camus's work as it is, and has been, available in English. The Stuart Gilbert translation was published in paperback by Vintage, has no ISBN number (unfortunately), and is copyright 1946 by Alfred A. Knopf. It sports a beige cover with the front featuring several sketched faces and a looming yellow sun.

After ordering the new Ward translation, dash out to your local used bookstore (or search on the web) for a copy of the old Stuart Gilbert translation. You'll be glad you did.

Rating:
Summary: Do you really like existentialist atheism and loss of hope?
Review: This book brought me a chilling and troubling nightmare of what it means to live without hope, which according to Camus, is a positive expression of the freedom of pushing a mute rock up a hill forever in joy as he explicates in his discursive book, The Myth of Sisyphus. But when a spiritual and religious person reads this 'fiction', she will recognize the truth that Camus' work never ceases to entrap itself in death-glorification, even, as in the final paragraph of this book, the stranger finds himself 'as having been happy and happy still', at the thought of the advent of his death, taking joy in the expectation (which, ironically, is a betrayal of Camus' conception of loss of hope as being a positive thing) of the spectacle of his death of execution and the jeers of the mob of spectators as they see him killed. The 'protagonist' of The Stranger is a cold-hearted emotionless character, and throughout this whole book of 'fiction' he turns the stomach. Read it only if you want to be that spectator of a man who willfully denies having hope, faith, and love, making a spectacle of himself for all to see, in that old literary post-modern fashion. I didnt have any kind of guidance when i first read it, someone to tell me that to read Camus was a taking part in the spectacle of a hopeless death, which again, is a good thing for him. He make take joy in hopelessness and the loss of God...Oh its such a twisted vision, one thinks. What freedom it is to rebel against freedom! How free must i be!!!! So, in all seriousness, perhaps one could read it to be more informed about hopeless and selfishly joyful atheism, but only to use your criticism available and valuable to others who are truly inquiring into what life is and what it is worth, to expose the unfortunate cowardliness of Camus, The Stranger.

Rating:
Summary: Psychology of Words
Review: Welcome to Camus' world as he bares his soul open to the benign indifference of the universe. Camus immediately captures our attention with the first three sentences of the "Stranger". Camus masterfully interplays his character's seemingly cold and unfeeling perception of life's events with his unwitting innocence. The psychology that abounds this story is amazing.

I highly recommend this classic book.