The StrangerThe Stranger
Score Classic
What it's about
Meursault, a clerk in Algiers, receives word that his mother has died. He goes to the funeral and doesn't cry. The next day he goes swimming, starts an affair and sees a comic film. Weeks later, on a blinding hot beach, he shoots and kills an Arab man, for no reason he can explain. At his trial, it seems the real crime is that he didn't weep for his mother.
Why it's worth reading
It's on the Bokklubben list of the 100 greatest books and is first on Le Monde's list of the books of the century. It's short, cool and unsettling, a classic of twentieth-century thought.
You'll love it if you liked
Darkness at Noon
The Death of Ivan Ilyich
1984Good to know
It's under 150 pages. Matthew Ward's or Sandra Smith's translations are the most readable. The murdered man is never named, which is now often read as part of the book's colonial blindness.
By the numbers
- Readers51 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics55 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller52 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #110 of the 309 literary novels we rank
- #298 of the 762 classics we rank
- #971 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Thought-provoking, Adventurous, Moving
If you like this, read next
The Color Purple
The Caine Mutiny
East of Eden
I, Claudius
A Room of One's Own
Angle of ReposeExplore the best-of lists
All 36 best-of lists →
Quick answers
Is The Stranger worth reading?
Yes. It's on the Bokklubben list of the 100 greatest books and is first on Le Monde's list of the books of the century. It ranks #971 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 73.3 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is The Stranger about?
Meursault, a clerk in Algiers, receives word that his mother has died. He goes to the funeral and doesn't cry. The next day he goes swimming, starts an affair and sees a comic film. Weeks later, on a blinding hot beach, he shoots and kills an Arab man, for no reason he can explain. At his trial, it seems the real crime is that he didn't weep for his mother.
How long does it take to read The Stranger?
About 3 hours (134 pages), or about 6 days at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after The Stranger?
If you liked it, try Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler, The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy or 1984 by George Orwell.