The Outsider/The Stranger -Albert Camus

[coritiacus]

Comments

[books_n_cats]

And now I really want to read this. Sounds right up my alley.

But then again... I'm fascinated by sociopaths...

[findserendipity]

I read this book (in the French original) in my first semester at university and chose it off the list of possible books because it was so conveniently short. So I was very curious about your review and now think I might have to reread this at some point. When I read it I found it dull and unexciting and not at all to my liking but you raise some interesting points there.
I guess what I want to say is: thanks for the review.

[brenbell]

It's been awhile since I read this book. I think I'll try it again.

[eolian_sprite]

For some reason, when I first read this I thought it was a great example of absurdist existentialism, and felt like the court show was a great farce, though I might be getting The Stranger mixed up with The Trial by Kafka.

The sociopathy take is interesting, and probably what I'd get out of a re-reading now, so I'll probably have to re-read this. :o

[coritiacus]

In a way the trial is farcical (like, why does his having coffee at his mother's wake mean he's an unrepentant murder?), and that it seems much more a performance for the two lawyers than about Meursault's life.

[ardys_the_ghoul]

I haven't read this, but the way you describe him, it does make Meursault sound autistic, which interests me.

I have Asperger's Syndrome, but I certainly don't have the kind of trouble Meursault seems to (I'm very high-functioning and people are usually really surprised if I tell them).