Lo straniero | 
pickCamus drifts through life untouched by its expectations, and that very detachment terrifies everyone around him. It‘s haunting, the way indifference becomes rebellion; how honesty, stripped of illusion, unsettles those still pretending to understand life. Camus forces you to confront that raw truth, that existence doesn‘t promise purpose, yet we live anyway. And maybe that‘s the point. To exist without needing reason, to linger.
pickI like to read the books my kids are assigned for the year, if I haven‘t yet. This is an assignment for my son‘s 9th grade lit. I think this is very good literature, but very heavy topics. I am also not for censoring, but maybe too much for 9th grade? What do you all think if you‘ve read it? Dealing with some serious violence, it makes me worry how impressionable 14 year olds are. Kind of a mix of Clockwork Orange and The Car Thief.
The narrator receives a visitor in prison. Lined up next to each other in either side of the bars, so do the other prisoners. The conversations interupt one another. It's hard to talk with his girlfriend.
pickThe manga version.
pickVery interesting. Just because you don't show emotion doesn't mean you are inhuman.
1: Latin bc it was the origin of so many languages
2: L‘Etranger (The Stranger) - I read it in French
#Two4Tuesday on Wednesday!! Thanks for tag @Kshakal
@TheSpineView
Finally read the renowned work, this the American translation. I know at it‘s time it was quite impactful. I find it more interesting for how much has been made of it over time and it‘s historical & geographic placement rather than the content itself. Men abusing dogs, women, and indifferent to others. A man writing a male protagonist who attracts a woman for not much reason. Some good quotes and moments but not a lot there today for my interest.
pickI read The Plague years ago (while pregnant with my first, whose 20th birthday is today), and while I kept meaning to read this one, it took my second-born reading it in high school and begging his father and me to read it to get me finally to pick it up. It's a quick read, the style reminiscent of Hemingway in the first half. As my son promised, there are some fire quotes in here, as well as musings about existence in the modern age. I liked it.
"So, with all the sleep, my memories, reading my crime story, and the alternation of light and darkness, time passed...days could be both long and short at the same time: long to live through, maybe, but so drawn out that they ended up flowing into one another. They lost their names. Only the words 'yesterday' and 'tomorrow' still had any meaning for me."
He's talking about prison, but this works to describe how a lot of 2020 felt, too.
pickA book about a murder portrayed as meaningless.
The emotional experience Camus delivers by refusing to provide an explanation for the murder perfectly reflects our struggle to cope with the complexities of life and our need to find a reason for evil. (Through the mechanism of projection, we try to locate the cause of evil outside of ourselves to make sense of the complex parts within.)
An emotionally fascinating journey.
pickBro is freaky.
Probably his only book I like.
(Those two things are not connected)
“I replied that you could never change your life, that in any case one life was as good as another and that I wasn‘t at all dissatisfied with mine here. He looked upset and told me that I always evaded the question and that I had no ambition, which was disastrous in the business world. So I went back to work.” For me; an example of how Mersault perceives matters important to the rest of Us as almost light breezes in the air, just passing him by.
“I felt like telling her that [mother‘s death] wasn‘t my fault, but I stopped myself because I remembered that it wasn‘t my fault, but I stopped myself because I remembered that I‘d already said that to my boss. It didn‘t mean anything. In any case, you‘re always partly to blame.”
“I remember a few other scenes from that day as well: for instance, Pérez‘s face when he caught up with us for the last time just outside the village. Great tears of frustration and anguish were streaming down his cheeks. But because of all the wrinkles, they didn‘t run off. They just spread out and ran toggether again, forming a watery glaze over his battered old face. Then there was the church and the villagers in the street, the red geraniums..
Lately I have seen several articles/video recommendations of 10 summer books, so I thought I would make a list of classic books that have a summer environment, or make me think of summer. Starting with the quintessential Camus, I have read this one twice now & the oppressive atmosphere stuck with me after both readings The sparse prose is evocative in depicting Meursault's indifference,
#ClassicSummer2024 Book 1
🌹So, so many! Elizabeth Strout is the first to pop in my head.
🌼 The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose - I know so many people that loved it, and I couldn't read beyond the first chapter. 🤷🏼♀️
🌺 The Stranger by Albert Camus
#wondrouswednesday
pickWhat does one say about The Stranger that hasn‘t already been said? On the surface it doesn‘t seem like much. Indeed it is the type of book that requires the skill of not reading what you‘re reading-and I‘m bad at that. Honestly, I think if it weren‘t for The Stranger‘s reputation, I would‘ve been disappointed. But there is sort of this mysterious attraction, an almost mythic quality, which I know will cause (as it has many others) my return.
pick5/5 🌟
Meursault's refusal to play games and straightforwardness is refreshing and hilarious. Emotionally indifferent and blunt, he defies societal expectations, viewing life as arbitrary and absurd. I love the book's exploration of these themes. Fantastic read!
pickPortrays the significance of empathy, love and understanding for one‘s fellow man and other living beings, the importance of showing kindness when it isn‘t asked for. A prime example of how turning a blind eye for personal convenience and being indifferent is contingent in allowing evil to prevail, usually when nobody is looking or notices.
Manchester Arndale book haul!
The Camus is a decoy. I needed something to make me look high brow whilst buying a book about Tinder that I couldn't resist, haha 😅
"From the dark horizon of my future a sort of slow, persistent breeze had been blowing toward me, all my life long, from the years that were to come."
pickHow can a simple sunny day can affect your emotions so much that we may end up doing something regrettable?
Best of the Absurdist nonchalance.
Loved it.
Its a small book.
pickI would recommend this book but man did this book put me in a bad mood. However, it was a very thought provoking read and a very nice conversation about it on our podcast. Check out ep. 34 of Mind Duck Books: http://bit.ly/3ih5tF3
so-sointeresting but unhinged. Kinda wack in my opinion but I still enjoyed reading it
"I hope the dog's don't bark tonight. I always think it's mine".
The delivery dates for these three separate orders ended up converging on today.
Quite the trifecta! 📦📚
so-soI was ok. I pretty much learned this from an episode of “Rick and Morty.” #bookjournal #audiobook
pickIs he on trial for indifference to his mother's death or shooting a man? Very philosophical. Very ambiguous. And I liked it. #ReadingAfrica2022 #Algeria @BarbaraBB @Librarybelle
Anyone need #algeria for #ReadingAfrica2022? It's #99ponkindle #ukkindledeal today @Librarybelle @BarbaraBB
He seemed so cocksure, you see. And yet none of his certainties were worth one strand of a woman‘s hair.
pickFinally getting a summer read in. Not a light read (am not into light reads) but a classic.
The Stranger, by Albert Camus, is the ultimate apathetic character. The book begins, "Mother died today. Or, maybe, yesterday; I don't know."
#love #oppositeday @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @TheKidUpstairs
“One never changed his way of life; one life was as good as another, and my present one suited me quite well.“
pickAn obviously Camus-esque reflection of life and dealings with life. It‘s inevitable reflection on being and meaning, which I suppose is the purpose of such a book is relatable and practical. It runs deep with issues that will always prevail through time and the clear strangeness one feels within oneself and environment is well-put. It‘s roots remain absurd. An interesting, captivating and ponderous read. :)
pickShort but thought-provoking book, which is split into three parts; at the start there's a death, then there's a murder and the rest of the novel is the implications of said murder.
The writing is great, it's a short book but the emotions are strong.
My first Albert Camus read, not my last.
3/5》
“The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.”
Remembering Albert Camus on his birthday.
pick⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Wow.. just wow!!
I really liked the main character, he's so "modern"; he is a stranger only because he doesn‘t react to his environment in a manner expected of him and he seems always disinterested in everything and everyone.
Square21 (FREE) for my #bookspinBingo @TheAromaofBooks
