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Vampyr
11-08-2004, 07:07 PM
I was assigned to read a book today in my Special Topics Literature class, and the book was called The Stranger, by Albert Camus.

The author has a certain sense of style in his writing that I have never witnessed before, and I was instantly drawn to it. Every sentance is very blunt, and in your face. The entire story is told from the perspective of one character, and it is written unlike any other first-person novel I have ever read. The only comparison I can make is that he writes like GM writes his journal entries. He shows us an entirely different side of how the human mind functions and thinks. The majority of the novel is used telling how the character is reacting to the things happening to him, and how he feels and thinks about him.

And if you read this book, I can almost garuntee that despite whatever the main character does, you will still feel for him. He will earn a place in your heart, no matter what. He is odd, though, because he appears to be utterly emotionless. At some parts he is more animal than human.

And the story is scary, too, because you will never know what is about to happen. But that's not why it will scare you. That's not why this book will surface in your mind when you lay down to sleep at night. The reason it will keep resurfacing, and the reason he will haunt your mind everytime you react to something is because when you read it, you will realize just how much you are like the stranger, and that down at the very core of every person, he lives there.

Swan
11-08-2004, 11:58 PM
And the story is scary, too, because you will never know what is about to happen. But that's not why it will scare you. That's not why this book will surface in your mind when you lay down to sleep at night. The reason it will keep resurfacing, and the reason he will haunt your mind everytime you react to something is because when you read it, you will realize just how much you are like the stranger, and that down at the very core of every person, he lives there.
That right there sounds like an advertisement for the book, or the description on the back of it. Well the last couple of sentences.

Vampyr
11-09-2004, 06:56 AM
That right there sounds like an advertisement for the book, or the description on the back of it. Well the last couple of sentences.

heh. Well you can go buy it or check it out or something...I promise I made it up myself. :D

code
11-10-2004, 06:36 PM
his showed me the book it looks cool i mite read it later right now I'm reading Artamis Fowl.

Stonecutter
11-10-2004, 09:04 PM
Well we all have a face
That we hide away forever
And we take them out and show ourselves
When everyone has gone
Some are satin, some are steel
Some are silk and some are leather
They're the faces of the stranger
But we love to try them on

Well we all fall in love
But we disregard the danger
Though we share so many secrets
There are some we never tell
Why were you so surprised
That you never saw the stranger?
Did you ever let your lover
See the stranger in yourself?
Don't be afraid to try again
Everyone goes south
Every now and then
You've done it, why can't someone else?
You should know by now,
You've been there yourself

Once I used to believe I was such a great romancer
Then I came home to a woman
That I could not recognize
Though I pressed her for a reason,
She refused to even answer
It was then I felt the stranger
Kick me right between the eyes

You may never understand
How the stranger is inspired
But he isn't always evil
And he is not always wrong
Though you drown in good intentions,
You will never quench the fire
You'll give in to your desire
When the stranger comes along

GameMaster
11-10-2004, 09:19 PM
Sounds great Vampyr, I'll check the school library tomorrow for it but if it's not there I'll probably want to buy your copy. What's the cover art look like?

Vampyr
11-10-2004, 10:18 PM
Sounds great Vampyr, I'll check the school library tomorrow for it but if it's not there I'll probably want to buy your copy. What's the cover art look like?

I dont own the copy, I got it from my school. :D

And the cover art just depends on what edition you buy. The author was French, and it's been translated into English many times. The one I read was translated by Matthew Ward, and the cover Art looks like this:

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/ugl/roundup/images/stranger.jpg

Bigger picture here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0679720200/ref=sib_rdr_fc/102-0188206-1003338?%5Fencoding=UTF8&p=S001#reader-page

I personally don't think it could be stranslated any better, and most people hail this one as the best translation thus far. It's a classic novel that will far outlive the century in which it was written.

Seth
11-11-2004, 01:57 AM
I'll reserve a copy of this the next time I'm at the library.


Thanks for the recommendation vampyr.


+rep