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A review by damontorrancebaby
The Stranger by Albert Camus
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I feel like Mesurault was just trying to live his life the way he thought it was to be lived. He was portrayed as not caring, or acting like life had no meaning and that he did not care, but I feel like he did care. A genuine ounce of him did, because through the last few months before his death, they kept pestering him about God, and how he should believe in God. He said he didn't and the world perceived that as heartless, and uncanny. I remember the priests would tell him that God would guide him and that he should ask for divine intervention, he did not. It was simply not because he didn't care about life itself, it was because he cherished the moments of his life. He did not want to waste the little moments of his life to pray to a God that may not answer. He wanted to salvage his time he had doing something meaningful to himself. That was why he would do anything for his friends. Thats why he shot the Arab. He wanted to do something meaningful in his life that mattered to him. There was no "impulsive" act when he shot the Arab. Thats why in court he seemed cold, and that he admitted it to it so easily. And his love for Marie. If he could genuinely express his love to her, it would be the cutest thing ever. Through his descent through the last few moments of his life, he saw Marie. He remembered those times with her, and that kept him sane. Mesuralt believed everyone was privileged and the same. Everyone was equal to him and I felt like he really cherished everything that was given because he said if he had another life he'd want to remember his past life all over again. This book was a 4/5. Everything was just so interesting and seeing a normal man slowly lose his mind, and regain everything is purely fascinating to me and I feel like he could be redeemed as a character.