Reviews

It's been years since I read The Stranger. I liked it as a teenager, but I am sure that I didn't really understand it. I quite liked this graphic adaptation. I thought the art was beautiful and that it captured everything I remember from the novel.

The difference I noticed most is that when I read the book as a teenager I found Meursault to be a little sympathetic, but while reading the graphic novel I thought he was a jerk. Part of that might be age and another part might be that the graphic novel is just a faster read and one has less time to bond with the characters.

I am going to re-read the original sometime soon.

alishaabrahamsreads's review

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2.5

“Everyone is privileged and everyone is guilty! Don’t you understand that you’re also condemned to death?”

baybod's review against another edition

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reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

happylilkt's review

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2.0

Update:

I have since read the original and I'm going to downgrade my rating to 2.5 stars because I think there were some missed opportunities with some of the text from the book that's really important (like the last line of part 1). I also think that for a book like this where the style of writing is essential it's not really a great candidate for the graphic novel format. But for fans of graphic novels and this book in particular I think this will be well appreciated. I'm still digesting the stranger and I'm not a huge fan of graphic novels so this fell flat for me. I will say that the inclusion of the Fernandel film dialogue was a bold and clever choice. The watercolors are gorgeous and the different color palettes between part 1 and 2 are excellent!

Original review:

I would be interested to hear how those familiar with the original like this adaptation. It was okay for me, but given the nature of Camus's book, I don't know that this is a great medium for this book for those new-to-the-book (like me). That being said, the artwork was excellent.

Meursault reminded me in some ways of Melville's Bartleby the Scrivener. Where Bartleby says, "I would prefer not to," Meursault says, "it doesn't much matter to me." Both have a lack of efficacy that seems to most "strange."

(Contains violence and female nudity.)

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