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| The Outsider (Penguin Modern Classics) | 
 enlarge | Author: Albert Camus
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Category: Book
List Price: £5.99
Buy Used: £2.68
You Save: £3.31 (55%)
New (28) from £3.64
Avg. Customer Rating:  56 reviews
Sales Rank: 3738
Media: Paperback
Edition: New edition
Pages: 128
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 0.4
ISBN: 0141182504
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780141182506
ASIN: 0141182504
Publication Date: February 24, 2000
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Enjoyable, well written. The perfect 'Quick Read' September 22, 2005
5 out of 7 found this review helpful
I read this book in one evening, as it is relatively short, but please do not let this put you off. Camus is one of the most important figures in modern literature, and in my oppinion was consistently producing books of excellent quality right up to his death. This book, and im sure most who have read it would agree, is probably his greatest acheivement. I have read the book twice so far, and am planning to do so again sometime soon. It cannot be faulted. Please, please pick youself up a copy. You will not be dissapointed.
 Indifference rather than honesty May 17, 2005
13 out of 25 found this review helpful
It is rare that I disagree so totally with other readers' reviews but I do with a couple here. We are invited to admire Meursault's total honesty; told that "instantly we fall in love with him"; and referred to the "passionate contact with everything one comes into contact with" that he displays. I don't feel that any of these is true. Meursault is indeed honest in his responses but not as a passionate moral response; rather because (as he constantly reminds us) he "doesn't mind" about what anyone thinks or does. Recognising that Raymond is a dangerous and evil man he nevertheless "did my best to please Raymond because I had no reason not to please him". He is consecutively indifferent to the misery of his mother, Perez, Salamano and Marie. The book is compelling to read and the extremely unornamented style makes the emotional battles of the trial and imprisonment more powerful. But in the end I found it cold and unengaging. I think I'll go and read a Harry Potter book.
One of the best books ever written.....My personal favourite March 5, 2005
1 out of 5 found this review helpful
As my mum annoyingly told me what happened at the end of the book and basically the plot, i thought that i would be reading simply what my mum had described.
This book is such a clever written book. The translation by Joseph Laredo is mindblowing, it is incredibly fluent and reads as if Camus were an English writer.
The description of the heat and religious preaching is perhaps the best pieces of literature ever.
Such a beautiful and ironic piece.
Our maddening world of faith based reason February 18, 2005
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
The Outsider stands as a book that will forever trancend time and strike at the core of the humanity in each and everyone of us. In a world of insincerity where we hide behind our fears and condemn those who do not conform to our own doctines, Mersault emerges as the lone voice of reason.I read a lot of reviews that Mersault is somehow a social outcast that can't really "feel" the emotions of others. Mersault has compassion in abundance in my eyes. His only failing is that he doesn't prescribe to our status quo or modus operandi. The attack on religion in this book is scathing. Ruling organs of state, the church, family and friendships are all exposed for the absurdity that they are. The Outsider is the perfect indictment of blind faith in people, providence and government. True understanding can only be gained from experience. This is the sole voice of reason. A beautifully crafted book with the most mesmerizing descriptions that really take you away to the sleepy beaches of Algiers. There is also a desperate simplicity about the book which is no small feat considering the depth of the human pysche it explores. I reccomend this book to anyone that wants to read a good story but at the same time reassess the enviroment we operate in.
Readable, Hypnotic and Disorienting September 1, 2004
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
WOW - I just put down 'The Outsider'.As others have said, it is incredibly readable - the hundred or so pages just whizz by. Unlike one of the other contributors, I think it is the ideal book to read if you fancy something a bit more 'serious' than Tom Clancy. Its is accessible and very thought provoking - the very emptiness of the characters and environment is also profoundly compelling. I agree that there is a danger that the 'indifference' of the protagonist can turn the reader off - but I think Camus manages to steer it away from that. Some books do require alot of background knowledge for you to enjoy them properly - other better books (like 'The Outsider')are the spark to make you search for the knowledge to understand them more deeply. Its enough if you can just say "I'm glad I read that". If a book can ignite your interest in that way, then it opens up all sorts of avenues for you. Just as I wanted to know more about the Transcendentalists after reading Thoreau's "Walden" - now I want to know more about the Existentialists after reading the "Outsider". It's a great book - and the ending is like being hit in the face with a shovel.
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