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December 12, 2004
Hello, stranger
I just read Camus' "L'etranger" ("The Stranger), which shares some surprising parallels with "Moll Flanders." Both are first-person narratives told by criminals of questionable morality. Both were written by former journalists with strong views of personal morality. The books are more different than they are alike, however. One is a morality tale set in 1600s England and America and tells the story of a full life; the other unfolds over a few months in 1940s Algeria and is devoid of all morality.Online, I have found essays and commentary about "The Stranger," which focus on its existentialist underpinnings. Most of the existentialist works I've been read have been absurd, which "The Stranger" is not. This book seems like a realistic portrayal of a detached atheist's experiences. I'm guessing there are more detached atheists roaming about and proclaiming their opinions now than there were 60 years ago. This could even partially be because of the existential movement, for all I know. Cultural change over time must account for my non-existential reading of the novella.The storytelling is good, and so is the writing in the translation that I encountered. That's enough for me. I don't need a book to blow my mind to win a favored spot on my shelves. Most of the best writers are pretty bad philosophers in my judgement, anyhow. And vice versa.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at December 12, 2004 10:27 PM