The Stranger by Albert Camus
Set in the sun-drenched landscapes of Algeria, this existential novel follows the life of an emotionally detached and indifferent man who becomes embroiled in a series of events leading to a senseless murder. Through his trial and eventual conviction, the narrative explores themes of absurdity, the meaning of life, and the societal expectations of morality. The protagonist's passive acceptance of his fate and his refusal to conform to conventional emotional responses challenge the reader to question the nature of existence and the human condition.
The 23rd greatest book of all time
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- Published
- 1942
- Nationality
- French
- Length
- Very Short
- Pages
- 120-160
- Original Language
- French
- Avg User Rating
-
(4.1)
- Alternate Titles
-
- Cizinec
- Der Fremde
- El Extranjero
- Främlingen
- L'Étranger
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This book is on the following 76 lists:
- 1st on Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century (Le Monde)
- 2nd on The 500 best books of all time from Culture Café users (Culture Café)
- 3rd on The 50 best French language books from 1900 to today (Le Temps)
- 4th on The 100 Best Books from 1900 to the Present (Yedioth Ahronoth)
- 4th on Top 100 World Literature Titles (Perfection Learning)
- 6th on 100 Best Novels, in Translation, Since 1900 (CounterPunch)
- 7th on The 101 Favorite Novels of 'Le Monde' Readers (Le Monde)
- 12th on 4chan’s Literature Board’s Aggregate Top 100 Books for the Decade 2014 - 2024 (Reddit)
- 13th on Fifty French Writers Choose Their Favorite 10 Books (On en garde 10 ! Pour la littérature)
- 13th on The 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century (Folha de São Paulo)
- 20th on 'The perfect library': the 196 books selected by 133 personalities (XLSemanal and Zenda)
- 20th on Waterstone's Books of the Century (LibraryThing)
- 22nd on 50 Books to Read Before You Die (Complex)
- 25th on Our Users' Top 100 Favorite Books of All Time (The Greatest Books Users)
- 26th on 100 Essential Books (Bravo! Magazine)
- 30th on The Books That Built The French (TNS-Sofres/SNCF–Lire)
- 32nd on TrueLit's Top 100 Favorite Books (2023) (/r/TrueLit)
- 33rd on R/ClassicLiterature's Top 100 Favorite Books (R/ClassicLiterature)
- 46th on Books Of The Century (Library Journal)
- 47th on El Pais Favorite Books of 100 Spanish Authors (El Pais)
- 49th on The Top 10: The Greatest Books of All Time (The Top 10 (Book))
- 57th on The Novel 100: A Ranking of the Greatest Novels of All Time (The Novel 100)
- 63rd on Harvard Book Store Staff's Favorite 100 Books (Harvard Book Store)
- 63rd on Readers’ Top 100 Novels Of All Time (Guardian)
- 68th on The Complete 500: OCLC (OCLC)
- 79th on The 100 Most Important Translations (Notos Magazine (Turkey))
- 80th on The Greatest Books of All Time (Reader's Digest)
- 82nd on The Telegraph’s 100 Novels Everyone Should Read (Telegraph)
- 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read (The Guardian)
- 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (The Book)
- 100 Books, 100 Companions (Zeit Online)
- 100 Books to Love (Sunday Times)
- 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime (Amazon.com (USA))
- 100 Most Influential Books of the Century (Boston Public Library)
- 100 Must-Read Classics in Translation (Bookriot)
- 125 Books We Love for Adults (NY Public Library)
- 150 Great Reads (The Spokesman-Review Spokane Chronicle )
- 200 Books That Shaped 200 Years of Literature (The Center for Fiction)
- 222 Best Books of All Time That Deserve a Spot on Your Bookshelf, With Picks from Bestselling Authors and Indie Booksellers (Parade)
- 40 Most Important Books, 1927-2001 (World Literature Today)
- 501 Must-Read Books (LibraryThing)
- 50 Best Cult Books (Telegraph)
- 50 Books That Defined Their Era (Guardian)
- 50 Books to Read Before You Die (Barnes and Noble)
- A Century of World Literature 1925 - 2025 (Der Spiegel)
- Best Books Ever (Book Depository)
- Books that Shaped the Century (LOGOS 20th Century Books Project)
- David Bowie's Top 100 Favorite Books (David Bowie)
- Everything You Should Read without Being a Library Rat (Book by Luiz Carlos Lisboa)
- For The Love of Books (For The Love of Books)
- Harenberg Buch der 1000 Bücher (Harenberg Buch der 1000 Bücher)
- Harold Bloom's The Western Canon (The Western Canon (Book) by Harold Bloom)
- Horror: Another 100 Best Books (Book)
- IWU Select 100 Must-Read Books (IWU (Faculty, Staff, and Students))
- PEN Translation Prize (PEN America)
- Select 100 (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee)
- The 100 Best Books in the World (AbeBooks.de (in German))
- The 100 Best Novels in Translation by Boyd Tonkin (Book)
- The 100 Best Novels Of All Time (Runners-Up) (The Guardian)
- The 100 Novels You Must Read in Your Lifetime (Esquire)
- The Best Classics (The Times)
- The Bigger Read List (English PEN)
- The Booklist Century: 100 Books, 100 Years (BookList)
- The Book of Great Books: A Guide to 100 World Classics (Book)
- The Books You've Always Meant to Read (Waterstones)
- The College Board: 101 Great Books Recommended for College-Bound Readers (The College Board, an American not-for-profit organization)
- The Graphic Canon (Book)
- The Hundred Most Influential Books Since The War (WW2) (Central and East European Publishing Project)
- The New Lifetime Reading Plan (The New Lifetime Reading Plan)
- The New York Public Library's Books of the Century (New York Public Library)
- The Well-Educated Mind (Book)
- Top 100 Books (Lincoln Journal Star)
- Top 100 Works in World Literature (Norwegian Book Clubs, with the Norwegian Nobel Institute)
- Världsbiblioteket (The World Library) (Tidningen Boken)
- What Harvard Professors Think Greatest Books Ever: Top 20 List (1977) (The Boston Globe (Newspaper))
- ZEIT-Bibliothek der 100 Bücher (Die Zeit)