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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Illustrated Stranger,
By
This review is from: The Stranger (Hardcover)
I first read 'The Stranger' in high school, not as a requirement, but on my own, and I have to admit it made little sense to me - not structurally, or by Camus' (or in this case, translator Stuart Gilbert's) delivery, but in the main character's actions. Frankly, I found Meursault indecipherable, which, upon reflection, has some positive things to say about my young outlook. Nevertheless, I found the story of Meursault's crime and trial oddly compelling and effective, and there were sections that I vividly remembered over twenty-five years later, when I picked it up again.
Due to some misconception on my part, I'd always believed that 'The Stranger' was representative of Camus' philosophy, which I thought was existentialism. Not knowing I was wrong on both counts, I could never seem to get a very good handle on this novel. (I should back up and say that 'The Stranger' certainly must contain ideas Camus thought important, but it isn't an outline of a philosophy in the same sense of, say, Ayn Rand's 'Atlas Shrugged'.) One of the interesting things about this edition is a preface by Camus, written in 1955, which may very well be in the paperback version I read many years ago as well, and which states pretty clearly what this book is about, and what prompted the author to write it. With that knowledge in hand, I thought the book turned from 'oddly compelling' to an insightful commentary on modern society. Transplant the idea of failing to show grief at your mother's funeral for any host of politically incorrect expressions, and your fate is professional suicide as surely as Meursault's was the death penalty. The story of the outsider is what makes this book a classic, and, reading it the first time, that resonance I felt was undoubtedly dim recognition. However, I also think there are some ideas Camus puts forth in his preface that seem forced. Meursault, he says, 'refuses to lie,' and 'refuses to hide his feelings, and immediately society feels threatened." Agreed, so far, but then comes the assumption that this refusal to lie reveals a 'passion for the absolute and for truth." My stipulation here is that it only reveals a passion for the absolute and for truth as Meursault sees it. Unfortunately, the declarative statements in Camus' preface and the place he occupies in literature can give this *truth* the ring of authority. One is certainly entitled to whichever worldview offers him the most solutions for navigating through the world, but I find little in the character of Meursault that is *truthful* to me - based on the little I know of Camus, it's strange to think he did either. Those are a few idle observations - 'The Stranger' is definitely a classic of modern literature for its depictions of society and the subtler intimations of the crises of thought that swept up the post-war intelligentsia. However, Meursault's utter lack of empathy reads to me like a damaged and incomplete man, and while he adheres to the truth as he perceives it under those limitations, this makes it possible to create a character passionate for a contrived truth. Another matter entirely is whether Meursault is a representation of the only Christ we deserve, as Camus avers at the end of his preface. Perhaps. But belief in salvation through Meursault's negative truths will probably depend a lot on the esteem one holds humanity in general. This edition of 'The Stranger', with its author's preface, introduction by Wallace Fowlie, and older translation by Stuart Gilbert is also illustrated by Daniel Maffia. I would advise those considering a purchase of this edition sight unseen because of the illustrations to try and borrow a copy first in order to evaluate for themselves whether it would be worth the extra effort. 'The Stranger' is not the first book that leaps to mind when I think of those which would benefit from illustrations, nor can I really imagine what sort of style would best suit Camus' classic, but Mr. Maffia's effort did not strike me as especially noteworthy. At times, I thought his style cartoonish and amateurish. Also, as I noted, this is the older translation, which is the same I read as a youngster and which some may prefer as a matter of preference, but I'd like to try the newer edition next time.
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