This produces a fascinating change in him: instead of being totally absorbed in the present moment, Meursault begins to cultivate a sense of the past. He explores his memories. For the first time, he is able, by pure force of will, to redirect his attention from what is right in front of him to something that is distant and gone. He now has a present and a past; and his psychology develops a concomitant depth.
The language gets less jerky towards the end, and more like a proper narrative. His thoughts are suddenly flung towards some future event—the vanishing of his existence. Thus, the circle opened at the beginning is closed at the end, with a perfect loop: the novel ends with a hope for what will come, just as it began with ignorance and apathy for what has passed. In order to regain this sense of time, Meursault had to do two things: first, remove himself from the tyranny of custom; second, contemplate his own death.
And these two are, you see, related: for custom discourages us from thinking about our mortality. Here we have another opened and closed circle. In the beginning of the book, Meusault goes through the rituals associated with the death of a family member.
These rituals are pre-determined and conventional; death is covered with a patina of familiarity—it is made into a routine matter, to be dealt with like paying taxes or organizing a trip to the beach.
Meusault has to do nothing except show up. The ceremony he witnesses is more or less the same ceremony given to everyone. Also note that the ceremony is so scripted that he is later chastised for not properly playing the part. At the end of the book, society attempts once again to cover up death—this time, in the form of the chaplain. The chaplain is doing just what the funeral ceremony did: conceal death, this time with a belief about God and repentance and the afterlife.
You see, even on death row, society has its conventions for death; death is intentionally obscured with rituals and ceremonies and beliefs. In this one act, he transcends the tyranny of custom and, for the first time in his life, becomes free. This is the closest I can come to an Aesopian moral: Without directly facing our own mortality, we have no impetus to break out of the hamster-wheel of conventional choices.
Our lives are pre-arranged and organized, even before we are born; but when death is understood for what it is—a complete and irreversible end—then it spurs us to reject the idle-talk and comforting beliefs presented to us, and to live freely. This is what Camus would have all of us do: project our thoughts towards our own inescapable end, free of all illusions, so as to regain our ability to make real choices, rather than to chose from a pre-determined menu. Only this way will we cease to be strangers to ourselves.
At least, that is the Heideggerian fable I think he was going for. I wonder sometimes if it takes a man of extreme sensitivity to imagine a man with no conscience? There is no room in my heart for indifference, and I struggle to see myself writing about Meursault without at some point bursting out in a stream of invectives. Albert Camus, most elegantly, describes the protagonist's carelessness in his caring prose - a prose of such stylistic perfection that it almost hurts to combine in your mind the beautiful words with their ugly meaning in his classic story.
Few people knew humanity as well as Camus did, and few people dared to describe it as honestly and accurately as he did. There is pity in his voice where most people would use their pseudo-Christian self-righteousness to condemn fully and without mercy. There is love for humanity in his account of its most undignified flaw: its lack of emotional connection to its habitat and fellow earth dwellers.
The stranger is inside all of us, and it is our human duty to keep him at bay, or to make sure we know him well enough not to let him loose on others. That is the absurdity of Camus' universe, and because it is so absurd, it is soothing in its bleak outlook.
View all 20 comments. The Outsider Albert Camus In spite of my willingness to accept this glaring certainty, I simply couldn't. Because, in reality, from the moment judgement was passed, the evidence my sentence was based on seemed ridiculously out of proportion to its inevitable conclusion. What or perhaps who is an Outsider? Who makes his choices irrespective of contemplating their probables outcomes as per society or simply one who acts as life props up.
Monsieur Meursault is an outsider to the society, a stranger to himself. He is not fond of playing games or telling lies rather accept life as it comes to him without any underlying sense of morality, prejudice or conformity. The character of Meursalt is hard to come by, as, being conscious and emotional beings we tend to have opinions, prejudices. We have an almost natural tendency to have belief systems, form ethics, define morality or rather simply we need some sort of order in our life.
But this very tendency of ours we call natural, is it really natural? Perhaps it is, probably it is not. Meursault sees that there is no inherent meaning of life. Is it really so? Is there no grand design or meaning of life? If it is so then why are we living? What is whole point of our existence? Does it mean we are living an inauthentic existence or we are living in some sort of simulation as some of modern physicists quite enthusiastically suggest?
According to Camus, there is ever going conflict between inclination of human beings to seek inherent meaning and value in life and the ever present inability of us to find any.
Camus says that once we become conscious of our absurd life, we should embrace it and should continue to explore and search for meaning of life. He is a man without feelings and one incapable of feeling remorse.
The book onsets with one of the most profound starting lines of the literature - My mother died today. Funeral tomorrow. Very sincerely yours. It might have been yesterday. The narrator may come across as someone quite oblivious to the world and it seems to be quite abhorrent to most of the people, for one is supposed to behave in a certain way on certain occasions and when someone loses his mother, he is supposed to show emotions which are considered natural as per society.
But our narrator, to the dismay to all, amidst the profound loss or seemingly of her mother is consciously aware of absurdness of the life. He depicts the ironies of enforcing meaning in a void and the absurdities that surround us as humans walking towards the same cold, lifeless fate. Though people around him feel stunned at such display of coldness towards the loss of her mother.
Perhaps they have been conditioned to behave so. We have become civilized as least we think so quite a long time ago but since the dawn of civilization we have amass so much that, in a way, we are going away from natural aspects. He is a man of few words or feelings past those that decisions seldom have much effect in the great plan of the world.
However it is his decisions that effect him in this world, particularly by the individuals who trust that his decisions would come gnawing at him in a next world that presumably doesn't exist as indicated by the narrator. And that is the absurdness of life. The narrator is well aware of the absurdness of life and his acts are in accordance to the same.
The unintended murder by Meursault puts him in an awkward situation among the society as he says the trigger going off from being overcome by the sun and heat. Does it make any difference- the intention- since nevertheless it leads to a murder whatever may be the intention? Perhaps it does, since if it is not so then there is no difference between jury and a killer. But this presumption acts as priori for the trial of Meursault as it is proved eventually that murder was an intended one.
The trial which is based more on his conduct during funeral of his mother rather than the act of murder, the trial room gradually becomes symbolism of justice based on values considered akin to human beings.
The one who does not conforms to these values condemned to death in the eternal trail room of justice, justice which appears to be equally absurd since it seems to be driven by some sort of dogma rather than any evidences. While he is ready to accept his fate- the punishment- but he finds the judgement rather ridiculous, he doesn't plead for mercy since he takes life as it comes even if it's hiding something as profound or seem so as death underneath its folds.
The book ends with a sort of philosophical doctrine by the narrator which resembles Christ as Camus himself called Meursault "a man who… agrees to die for the truth" and characterised him as "the only Christ that we deserve". And I as well, I too felt ready to start life all over again. As if this great release of anger had purged me of evil, emptied me of hope; and standing before the symbolic night bursting with stars, I opened myself for the first time to the tender indifference of the world.
To feel it so like me, so like a brother, in fact, I understood that I had been happy, and I was still happy. So it might be finished, so that I might feel less alone, I could only hope there would be many, many spectators on the day of execution and that they would greet me cries of hatred.
Camus once said that he did not want to ridicule any belief system per se rather he wanted to put forth the underlining absurdity of life. He says that there is only one philosophical problem in the life and that is suicide. According to him, the only question worth asking is the great choice that whether life is worth living or not.
Camus points out, however, that there is no more meaning in death than there is in life, and that it simply evades the problem yet again. Camus concludes that we must instead "entertain" both death and the absurd, while never agreeing to their terms.
He had been regularly labeled with existentialism though not to his wish. While existentialism suggests that there is no inherent meaning in life and we should accept it, thereby should define our lives and take responsibility to live by it; absurdism says that the very acceptance the absurd condition of life is the onset of true existence since while accepting the absurd situation one must not stop search for meaning for life.
In that sense, the philosophy of camus is more humanitarian in approach while existentialism is a systematic philosophy. The Outsider is a classic story about absurd nature of life. I absolutely loved it. And It is highly recommended to someone who is keen to explore the absurd nature of life or rather life in general. View all 52 comments. Aug 01, Nishat rated it really liked it Shelves: classic.
This laudable writing explores the numerous possibilities of human life while acknowledging its absurdities. Albert Camus brilliantly introduces the indifference of the world towards its inhabitants through the title character, Meursault's withdrawal from his surrounding society. Meursault, devoid of ordinary sentiments, is tried before trial on account of a bizarre murder. Naturally the wrath of the society comes upon Meursault, for he is not inclined to demonstrate or is merely incapable of remorse.
Meursault embodies Camus's philosophical notion of absurdity. Meursault's thoughts and actions have no rational order and cannot be explained. Yet the society forces rational explanations on Meursault's doing and makes decisions for his life. Our comprehension of life is overshadowed by the inevitability of our eventual demise. As death spares neither the fool nor the wise, individual lives stand to have no inherent meaning. As Meursault realises there is indeed no higher value to his or any human life and that happiness has nothing to do with this revelation, he rejects illusory hopes and intends to make the best of the days left to him..
View all 12 comments. Mar 08, Beverly rated it it was ok. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Apathy is this man's primary way of dealing with the world. His mother dies and he goes to her funeral, yet he feels nothing, except tired and hot and drowsy.
He is hungry and so he eats. He is aroused and has sex with a girl. He has a gun and the sun is hot and irritates him so he shoots a man 5 times and kills him. That is the first part of the book. In the second part of the book, comes the trial. The man is human in form, but does not feel emotions or empathy towards others. He is honest about Apathy is this man's primary way of dealing with the world.
He is honest about this. His lawyer does not appreciate his truthfulness, as it hurts his case. At least, he has not learned to hide his inhumanity. He creates no false mask. You or society must take him as he is. Society decides to kill him. Isn't this as inhuman as what the man has done?
Cold and calculating, the court finds him deficient and so he must die. View all 33 comments. Dec 01, Danny rated it really liked it. The Stranger is considered by many to be one of the most important philosophical novels of the 20th Century. In most college courses on Existentialism a philosophy which holds that human beings create the meaning and essence of their own lives The Stranger is usually the first thing you will read.
If you're interested in philosophy, or Existentialism specifically, The Stranger is a great place to start. Camus describes Meursault, the main character, only sparingly; and for the majority of the n The Stranger is considered by many to be one of the most important philosophical novels of the 20th Century.
Camus describes Meursault, the main character, only sparingly; and for the majority of the novel Meursault holds no real opinion about anything, and neither does anything even the death of his own mother effect him very much.
The lack of description, motivation, and action causes Meursault to become something of a literary Rorschach test. The reader ends up filling this vacuum with their own prejudices and societal preconceptions, making the reader as involved in building the world as the author.
The Stranger probably isn't what you would typically expect from most novels. The whole story is a deliberate exercise in absurdity; and while the plot is very simple, and the characters are seemingly one dimensional, it all works together to create a great philosophical work. The Stranger peels like an onion, and the further between the lines you read, the more there is to find.
There is an amazing amount of meaning and content packed into its pages. I've found it to be worth reading over and over again, and it's short enough to read cover to cover in just an hour or two. View 1 comment. May 18, Madeleine rated it it was amazing Shelves: blogophilia , head-in-the-clouds-nose-in-a-book , tooting-my-own-muted-horn , , our-libeary , maybe-it-s-time-to-live. I was so amped about this book when I tore through it a few weeks ago; alas, in that yawning chasm of time between then and when I first sat down to start this review as opposed to this most recent effort -- I think at least my fourth?
Fortunately, since Goodreads has instilled in me the need to take notes on, emphatically underline passages from and analyze the pants off every book I read thes I was so amped about this book when I tore through it a few weeks ago; alas, in that yawning chasm of time between then and when I first sat down to start this review as opposed to this most recent effort -- I think at least my fourth?
Fortunately, since Goodreads has instilled in me the need to take notes on, emphatically underline passages from and analyze the pants off every book I read these days, a quick revisit to my thorough defacing of this novel got me right back in the mindset of being unexpectedly taken by a deceptively disinterested narrator. This is a work that got under my skin and burrowed deep into my brain in slightly disturbing but mostly welcome ways right from the first sentence.
I am not a terribly literal person. I love hyperboles and understatement and metaphors because they allow for elasticity of interpretation. It lets people impose their own inner landscapes on the seemingly uniform outside world, just as it leaves room for individual interpretations of message, intent, subtext, whatever. People do not perceive and interact with the world the same way, so why should they be expected to hear the same things, pick up on the same cues, follow the same logic of thought?
Of course, forcing the observer to do some creative thinking on the fly or trusting them to observe at all, in some cases has a tendency to backfire more often than simply saying what's on your mind to eliminate all doubt, but that's how you suss out the mental midgets. Or, you know, wind up with a death sentence. Like life, it's all a gamble and not always worth the risk. As odd though probably unsurprising, given the nature of my reviews as it is to say, I found a certain kinship with Meursault.
To me, Meursault is just a guy who just doesn't process the world in the same rank-and-file way as others do. He's an open book, an adaptable entity and honest to a fault, a man who doesn't subscribe to societal norms -- not because it's cool to be That Guy but because he truly seems to process events and impulses with a sense of sincerely stoic reservation. How many people haven't cried at a loved one's funeral, only to crumble under the emotional weight days or weeks or months later after some mundane event hammers home the finality of loss?
Or have taken up an unpleasant task to relieve a friend from its terrible burden? Or shrugged their shoulders in the face of an ugly truth because nothing can change the course of fate once the momentum reaches its unstoppable peak? What, really, is the point of getting emotional when it's not going to change a damn thing? Meursault knows he is powerless to change things. He knows he has no business making assumptions about other people and their behaviors based solely on his own.
What's so wrong with that? Fighting death is the most hopeless of causes so don't even bother wasting the effort; similarly, he knows that crying over his mother's death won't bring her back. Besides, what we know about their relationship is only what Meursault reveals, overtly or not, so who are we to judge him strange for not reacting as histrionically as we would?
Isn't it awfully presumptuous to impose our sense of "normal" on a stranger? But by the time he shares his belief that no one has a right to cry over his Maman when being so close to death allowed her a peace that simply does not exist in the bloom of life, Meursault's own minimal relevancy to the world is nearing its close. We are not supposed to get to the heart of him but we sure can appreciate where he's coming from with just enough effort to realize that the example made of him misses the point by a shamefully vast distance.
This book touched on a lot of things that annoy me about society, mainly the need to cling to misconceptions when confronted with an individual or circumstance that can't be neatly cataloged as a "type" or doesn't fall into a inflexibly prefabricated black-or-white category.
Why is it so difficult for the staggering masses to extend the courtesy and minimal exertion of critical thinking to appreciate and be educated by a deviation from the norm?
I appreciated the opportunity to judge that which I cannot stand in a cathartic, safely isolated way. It allowed me to focus on feeling just awful for Meursault. I mean, c'mon -- someone had to, right? He's the victim of the dangers of monochromatic thinking in a world painted in every hue, common or not. Alternate read is that Meursault is an emotionally stunted Maman's boy who can't cope with life sans mommy, throws himself at this woman he barely knows and then gets himself legally killed so he doesn't have to do it himself, but that's so View all 15 comments.
Jun 01, Carmen rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: Anyone. Shelves: traditionally-published , classics , fiction , published , he-says , algerian-author. I didn't feel anything except that he was beginning to annoy me. Well, this book was fucking amazing. It's smart, short, quick, and funny. I'd highly recommend it to anyone. Our protagonist, Meursault, is pretty apathetic to anyone else's feelings I didn't feel anything except that he was beginning to annoy me.
Our protagonist, Meursault, is pretty apathetic to anyone else's feelings and only cares about his own comfort and happiness.
He's not a greedy or angry person. But he is vulnerable to suggestion and goes along with what anyone suggests to him if it isn't any skin off his teeth. He's also almost physically unable to tell a lie or be dishonest. This ends up getting him in trouble - that, and not being able to understand basic neurotypical emotions. He can't understand what everyone is getting so worked up about.
Let's take the beginning of the novel in which Meursault's mother dies in the Home. Meursault is condemned, hated and believed to be soulless for two reasons here: ONE: He put his mom in a Home in the first place. This seems perfectly reasonable to me. For instance, Meursault works. I don't see anything wrong with him putting his mom in the Home. It's hard to just leave her alone for eight hours a day with no care and then come home to care for her instead of go out with his woman or with his friends.
Besides, he said he and his mom have nothing more to say to each other. This is reasonable. For the first few days she was at the home she cried a lot. But that was because she wasn't used to it. A few months later and she would have cried if she'd been taken out. She was used to it.
This is so true. I am very familiar with the elderly and persons with dementia. Often old folks cry and despair upon being put in a Home, but after a few months they have friends, they have bingo every Sunday and movie-night every Friday, they have their friends, they have their flirtations, and everything is fine.
TWO: He didn't cry at his mom's funeral, and he did things like drink coffee and smoke a cigarette. The day after his mom's death he started a sexual relationship with a woman. That also seems understandable to me. Literary Devices Here's where you'll find analysis of the literary devices in The Stranger , from the major themes to motifs, symbols, and more.
Themes Motifs Symbols. Quotes Find the quotes you need to support your essay, or refresh your memory of the book by reading these key quotes.
Important Quotes Explained. But this, too, would have presented an inaccurate view of Meursault. So how is the English-language translator to avoid unnecessarily influencing the reader? First, the French word maman is familiar enough for an English-language reader to parse. Around the globe, as children learn to form words by babbling, they begin with the simplest sounds. Utilizing the original French word in the first sentence rather than any of the English options also serves to remind readers that they are in fact entering a world different from their own.
While this hint may not be enough to inform the younger reader that, for example, the likelihood of a Frenchman in colonial Algeria getting the death penalty for killing an armed Arab was slim to nonexistent, at least it provides an initial allusion to these extra-textual facts. Finally, and perhaps most important, the American reader will harbor no preconceived notions of the word maman.
Once my head settles I shall dive into the show. View all 11 comments. Sometimes a book will just blow me out of the water, especially if the description did it no justice.. Unfortunately in this case I feel as though the opposite happened. But then I know a lot of people loved this book so perhaps the issues are all mine.
View all 13 comments. Mar 24, Carolyn Walsh rated it it was ok. Harlan Coben has been one of my favorite mystery writers , but I was disappointed with this book. I understand I am in the minority here as most readers have rated it highly.
I found the many supporting characters lacked sufficient development to make them interesting to me. Coben is the master of suspense and surprising twists, but thought it lacked character development. You may guess the direction it is going from the Gone Girl story, and you may be wrong. View all 3 comments. Feb 23, Don rated it really liked it. Adam Price is a man who is seemingly "living the dream", he has a beautiful wife Corrine, and two sons, and his life is good, until one evening when attending his sons lacrosse game, a complete stranger drops a complete bombshell on him, regards to his wife, which, after some digging around, he is convinced the Stranger is right.
How could Corrine do something like this? Who would give her such an idea? How can he confront her? All these questions in Adams mind, and when he finally confronts her, she does a runner, claiming she needs time and space, Adam is not convinced, something is very wrong. When it turns out the Stranger is also dropping other bombshells on unsuspecting people, the consequences are often very severe, and before long there's a vicious ex policeman after their trail.
Not only that other parents involved in the lacrosse League are also interested in Corrine's whereabouts, which again Adam cannot understand why, and more dark secrets emerge, and who the hell he can trust, and what is Corrine playing at?
This was an enjoyable read, and by the end I was completely surprised at what happened, I wasn't expecting it, plenty of twists and turns and while not perfect who is? Adam was quite a likeable character and decent guy, a character to root for as you wonder why all this stuff is happening, I'm certainly looking forward to discovering more of Harlan Cobens work, those who like stories with thrills, secrets, mysteries, deceipt, will definitely enjoy this.
Mar 22, Barbara rated it liked it. Adam Price, husband and father of two sons - Ryan and Thomas - attends the youth lacrosse team draft in his New Jersey town to make sure Thomas makes it onto the premier team.
Just before the draft begins a young man - who identifies himself as 'the stranger' - tells Adam that his wife Corinne faked her recent pregnancy and miscarriage. Shocked, Adam finds proof and - when Corinne returns from a teacher conference in Atlantic City - confronts her.
Corinne basically admits the deception and asks fo Adam Price, husband and father of two sons - Ryan and Thomas - attends the youth lacrosse team draft in his New Jersey town to make sure Thomas makes it onto the premier team. Corinne basically admits the deception and asks for a day to explain herself. She then disappears, sending Adam a message that they need time apart and asking him to take care of the kids.
Adam then proceeds to search for Corinne, discovering information about 'the stranger' along the way. Turns out the stranger is part of a group that makes it their business to discover and expose people's secrets, sometimes engaging in blackmail along the way.
This is a dangerous endeavor that leads to a couple of murders, about which Adam is questioned. To add to the hubbub, a large amount of money is missing from the lacrosse team funds, and Corinne - who's on the lacrosse team board - is a suspect. There are a number of characters and threads in the story: the lacrosse board members have personal problems; 'the stranger' confronts several people with secrets they don't want exposed; an ex-detective has a son with cancer; Ryan and Thomas are upset about their mom's disappearance; a woman police chief from Ohio inserts herself into the murder investigations; Adam Price has a secret of his own; and so on.
I have a couple of problems with the book: First, the motives and actions of 'the stranger' and his friends doesn't ring true. A group that feels compelled to reveal people's secrets for the good of society?
Second, in real life Corinne would probably have told Adam some things she kept secret. Because of this the plot seems more contrived than realistic. Still, the book's a suspenseful page turner and an enjoyable mystery. Overall, I'd recommend it to mystery fans. He is the master of the twist that you didn't see coming I think he is a very highly talented author that keeps up the pace.
Adam eventually goes to a website Fake a pregnancy. What happens in the end is mind boggling just loved every minute do yourself a favour read this if you haven't already its a real page turner. This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life.
I have been a fan of Harlan Coben for a very long time. I have read almost every book that he has published and I have been lucky enough to meet him twice. I am always eager to get my hands on any new book that has his name on the cover. I realize that I expect a lot out of a Harlan Coben book. I not only expect not only to be entertained but to be completely sucked into the story having no idea what twists will happen next. This bo This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life.
This book was trademark Harlan Coben and was full of twists and turns and I found myself guessing until the very end. Adam is living the dream. He is a married father of two boys and works as a lawyer. Adam's life is turned upside down by The Stranger. Adam doesn't know who The Stranger is but the things that this man tells hims makes him doubt the trust that he has in his wife, Corinne.
Everything about his life suddenly feels threatened and he confronts his wife with what he has learned. Corinne leaves telling Adam that she needs some time through a text message. As you would expect in a Harlan Coben book, this book takes a few turns and at times it is hard to see how everything is going to come together. Several different storylines play out during this book each one have a role in the final outcome. I didn't fall in love with Adam during this story but I found myself imagining what I would do if I were in his situation.
I really liked Johanna's character. She seemed to be able to see what was really going on and worked to solve the problem. This was a book that I had a very hard time putting down. I read it every chance that I got and would have finished it in a single day if I hadn't need to go to my daughter's band concert. The pacing of the story was perfect. Coben is a master at keeping a reader completely interested in the story and his writing was fantastic. I did think that some of the things that happened in this story were a bit far fetched but nothing was completely out of the realm of possibility.
My one issue with this book was the ending. I am still not completely sold on how this story came to a conclusion. In that final dramatic scene, I am not sure that all of the characters acted in a manner consistent with the rest of the story.
More than anything the ending left me wondering about whether or not they would have behaved as they did. I definitely found myself surprised by the end and that is a very good thing. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a fast paced mystery with lots of twists and turns. If you have not yet read a Harlan Coben book, please do yourself a favor and pick one up as soon as possible. I cannot recommend this author enough. View all 9 comments. Mar 15, Paula rated it really liked it Shelves: e-book , favorite-authors , suspense-thriller , published , read-in Harlan Coben's thriller, The Stranger, is a terrific fast-paced book.
Coben, a favorite author of mine, has come up with an interesting novel about web-based secrets. Out of nowhere a "stranger" approaches Adam Price and tells him about a devastating secret that his wife, Corinne, has kept from him.
Then all hell breaks loose. First his wife takes off and a lot of surprises follow. Interesting is all the characters in the book trying to maintain the "American Dream". Although not Coben's best, it's quite enjoyable. Highly recommend for any of his fans out there. Aug 20, Lee rated it really liked it. Wow another great book from Harlan Coben, if you are a fan of his this one will not let you down. We are taken straight into a world full of suspence, excitement and tension, just the way I like it.
Great plot and characters that were well developed, you felt like you actually got to know them. How would you react if you were sitting there, minding your own business, and then someone aka "The Stranger" sits down next to you and says something that will dramatically change your life and make you q Wow another great book from Harlan Coben, if you are a fan of his this one will not let you down.
How would you react if you were sitting there, minding your own business, and then someone aka "The Stranger" sits down next to you and says something that will dramatically change your life and make you question everything you have ever thought was real.
This makes for a gripping book, I did not want it to finish and now will have to wait till his next novel comes out. View all 21 comments. I am a fan, generally speaking, of this author. I read it all yesterday, a one sitting read well interspersed with real life stuff like feeding th I am a fan, generally speaking, of this author.
I read it all yesterday, a one sitting read well interspersed with real life stuff like feeding the kids that had me romping through the pages, desperate to know what was going on. We meet Adam Price, happily married, two great kids, who one day meets a stranger.
What this stranger tells him rocks the very foundations of that marriage and sets off an insidious chain of events that will put everything Adam loves on the line.
In classic Coben style we have a seriously addictive mystery element interspersed with some great characters who you want to root for. The really good thing about all the stories is the people that pepper the pages could be anyone — your neighbour, friend, loved one — they are all realistically drawn, often start off with fairly mundane normal lives, then BAM Mr Coben throws them and the reader out of that comfort zone and offers up a problem not easily solved.
In the case of The Stranger, there is a strong emotional edge to it — after all, what if someone told you that the person you trust most in the world is not actually trustworthy.
What if, then, you start to look back on your life and the events therein with different eyes and a different outlook. This is what Adam faces here — those elements of the tale are cleverly done. Overall this was really very satisfying. The story twists and turns its way to a stunning conclusion, there is a far wider picture to be had here which is drip fed to us in chapters not devoted to Adam, you may work this one out you may not — but the themes are varied and intelligently interwoven into the plot and this made for a really really great read.
One of my favourite Coben novels so far. Definitely highly recommended. Originally posted on The Book Nympho Someone, a stranger, approaches Adam Price and tells him something provocative about his wife, Corinne And so begins a story of deception, mystery and conspiracies that escalate dangerously. I was immediately drawn into this story, even though much of what we know about all the players is learned after the initial conflict.
Determining who's lying, telling the truth or just being deceptive was made much more difficult until I co Originally posted on The Book Nympho Someone, a stranger, approaches Adam Price and tells him something provocative about his wife, Corinne Determining who's lying, telling the truth or just being deceptive was made much more difficult until I could burrow under their skin and public veneers and try to make sense of it all.
It's one of the more complex stories I've read by Coben and it kept me enthralled through the end. Speaking of endings
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