"The Stranger" By Albert Camus Has Been A Famous Reading Staple

Albert Camus' The Stranger has been a famous reading staple for over 50 years for good reason. First, it is succinct in both story and message, though that message may be arguable, giving it that much more fire, life, and so, literary value.

The Stranger is a tale of an absolutely senseless murder that ends a nearly senseless life, that of the killer, Meursault (we the readers know very little about the life of the Arab man murdered in this tale). We are somewhat made to feel pity for Meursault, though this sympathy is at times very difficult to summon, given the man's anomic nature.

Yet, despite the main death in the tale, there is another death which begins it all. Before page 1 has expired, the main character Meursault discusses his mother's death, funeral, and plans to be back home within a day. His boss may not be pleased at his sudden departure, he explains, but accepts Meursaults sudden departure from the city. Almost immediately, Meursault reveals his near-antipathy for family and the burden of employment. This reminds one of both post-modernist attitudes brought on by monies attained by work and the modern "first world" tendency of "hiding away" or neglecting our elderly. Moreover, it harkens to Marxist ideas of alienation from work and possibly, whether Marx was right or not, the very real, resultant apathy that so many have exhibited for work in the 20th and 21st centuries.

However, despite his callous attitude, Meursault does hold a vigil over the body of his mother. Yet, the reader may suspect that he is simply going through the motions expected of him by society -namely, feighning concern for his recently deceased mother. This is attested by the line that reads "I hadn't been in the country for ages, and I caught myself thinking what an agreeable walk I could have had, if it hadn't been for [the death of] Mother." And on page 80 there is a shocking statement: "All normal people, I added as on after-thought, had more or less desired the death of those they love, at some time or another." This is shocking, but is it true, and if so, for what percentage of people? A greater number than are in prison, perhaps? Or a greater number yet, in this world of dwindling resources and (possibly) increasing selfishness and narcissism.

Of course, one might refute any idea of the narrator's insensitivity by the very same line, as it was his mother's death that would not allow for a more tranquil walk in the countryside. Without the added words "the death of" bracketed into the quote, the interpretations may be found on a spirited spectrum of differences in opinion. It is left to the reader to decide which is more the truth.

Another interpretation, albeit at a stretch of the imagination is this: by the death of his mother, the main character is freed of manifold constraints placed upon him by his employment, his city, his grudging commitment to his girlfriend, and, as symbolized by the beach, the waves, the ocean, the sun and the Arab in the throes of lassitude, by life and even, ultimately, by Meursault himself. If this speaks to the individual, it is probably the desire of Camus.

I'd expected to read a modernized version of "Crime and Punishment," except that The Stranger, besides being more succinct, doesn't delve into the premeditation of Dostoyevsky's dreary masterpiece. In reality, the murder committed is quite spontaneous.

The tale is existential, a bit nihilistic, and heavily absurdist; if imagination be permitted to work as one reads the final pages of this novella one senses the futility of existence that we all know from time to time, the maddening quiet just before dusk no matter the time of day, and the core-rotting sadness we all must feel eventually.

Some points of interest to notice are the similarities in maltreatment that the neighbor has for his dog, and the same similar unconcerned neglect that the narrator shows to his girlfriend.

Also, the almost surreal, mentally blurred expression of the main character walking on a beach. This possesses an almost cinemagraphic visual that offers the mind perfect images of excessive sun, excessive alcohol, and a great disenchantment with life that the narrator possesses and expresses candidly, even perfectly.

A very quick read, not only for its short nature but as it reads well, and smoothly, this is a fine book that can be read in transit on a train or bus for just 15 minutes a day, coming to conclusion in less than a week. It may just make you think about your own life.

Anna Karenina By Leo Tolstoy Tells Of The Doomed Love

Summary:
Anna Karenina tells of the doomed love affair between the sensuous and rebellious Anna and the dashing officer, Count Vronsky. Tragedy unfolds as Anna rejects her passionless marriage and must endure the hypocrisises of society. Set against a vast and richly textured canvas of nineteenth-century Russia, the novel's seven major characters create a dynamic imbalance, playing out the contrasts of city and country life and all the variations on love and family happiness.

Review:
Along with Gone With the Wind, my grandmother also suggested that I read Anna Karenina, which was a book she loved when she was younger. Since I really enjoyed Gone With the Wind, I thought I would give Anna Karenina a try. Though this book was just as long as Gone With the Wind, Anna Karenina was not quite as good.

I always feel bad if I don't completely love classic literature. I mean, there's a reason that this book is famous, right? But I have to remember that, like with books today, I'm not going to love every book that is considered a classic. I did like Anna Karenina. But it was just so slow and long that it made it a chore to read.

The book follows a lot of different characters and gives stories all from their points of view. Luckily for the reader, all the characters are inter-related and so their stories coincide. This made it easier to follow everything that was going on. Despite the fact that the book follows about seven or eight different people, only two are considered to be protagonists: Anna Karenina and Levin. Anna Karenina is, obviously, the adulturous wife who cannot seem to find happiness no matter what she does and Levin is a wealthy farmer who searches for the meaning of life and really wants a family. These two characters only come into contact once or twice but Levin's wife is Anna's brother's sister-in-law, so they are kind of related.

It's hard to explain the plot with so many different things happening, but at the core Anna Karenina is about Anna's illicit relationship with Count Vronsky. It was interesting to read about adultery in 19th century Russia, where somewhat of a double standard occurs (it's okay for a husband to cheat but not a wife). With this being a classic and all, there's a lot of symbolism and imagery, which I had to look on SparkNotes to really understand.

If you decide to read Anna Karenina, be warned that it is a huge undertaking. It's long and slow but still an interesting novel if you like books about history, relationships and Russia.

Top Ten Books-You Must Own Them

If people are buying a book, it must be good, right? Or when it comes to modern ones, they could just have a good marketing campaign, in which case we should reward those who came up with it anyway. Let's have a look on top ten books that made a killing and sort them based on the number of sold copies:
1. The Lord of the Rings

• Author: J. R. R. Tolkien
• # of sold copies: 150 million
• First edition: 1954

Although this series has become even more famous after being filmed, it's fair to say that the tale of Middle Earth is an ingenious work of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. It reaches deep inside of us and plays on our imagination, wishes and inspiration.

The story of one little hobbit named Frodo Baggins succeeding where immortal elves or noble kings have failed gives us a very truthful message that literally nothing is impossible. Tolkien did a wonderful job in creating a living world and it will take a long time before his legacy is forgotten - if it will ever come to that.

2. Dream of the Red Chamber

• Author: Cao Xueqin
• # of sold copies: 100 million
• First edition: 1759

Let's not forget that China is indeed a big country and consequently, so being successful on the Chinese market has its charms. Although I personally never heard about this book in particular before, the numbers do not lie and over one hundred million sold copies seized the second place in our list.

Dream of the Red Chamber is one of the Four Great Classical Novels, as they call them in China. It depicts traditional Chinese cuisine, mythology, proverbs etc. It is based on the author's own experience with the Chinese aristocracy in the 18th century.

3. And Then There Were None

• Author: Agatha Christie
• # of sold copies: 100 million
• First edition: 1939

It's hardly a surprise that Agatha Christie as one of the best authors of detective novels out there made it to our top ten books list. She is well known for her excellent plots and surprising endings. She created a bit of a fuss by originally calling this book "Ten Little Niggers" - the name was changed to the current And Then There Were None so that it is not offensive towards Afro-Americans.

And what's going on in this book? Simply put, ten people of different social classes are invited to an island where they are accused of murders and they start dying, one by one - but you'll have to read it yourself, we all know it's a bad idea to talk about plots too much when it comes to detective stories.

4. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe

• Author: C. S. Lewis
• # of sold copies: 85 million
• First edition: 1950

C. S. Lewis has provided us with another grand tale of unusual heroes. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe is but one part of a gigantic masterpiece describing a strange world full of magic and strange creatures somehow co-existing with our own.

4 siblings named Peter, Edmund, Susan and Lucy enter the world of Narnia through a wardrobe, only to find out that they are both persona non grata and expected saviors. In case you were thinking that Chronicles of Narnia and LOTR are a bit similar at times, keep in mind that Lewis and Tolkien were very close friends, in fact Lewis helped Tolkien with a few passages in LOTR.

5. The Da Vinci Code

• Author: Dan Brown
• # of sold copies: 80 million
• First edition: 2003

Having a successful book release in the 21st century no longer depends simply on writing a good book, but also on the marketing and distributing channels. Dan Brown and his team obviously managed that, because selling 80 million copies over 7 years is simply remarkable.

The Da Vinci Code is a mysterious story depicting a cohesion between Catholic religious beliefs and the modern world. You should fasten your seat belts before you start reading it, because the pace is quick and you could easily get off track!

6. The Alchemist

• Author: Paulo Coelho
• # of sold copies: 65 million
• First edition: 1988

"When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it". I don't know how does the original in Portuguese sound, so the translation will have to suffice. The point is that Paulo Coelho tells us that if you want something real badly, you shall have it.

The Alchemist tells a story of a young shepherd boy who overcomes love and danger on his quest for a treasure. Apparently, the story is so good that it had to be translated into 67 languages and breaking a Guinness record in translations for a living author.

What might especially young people find very appealing is that Paulo Coelho encourages people to use peer to peer networks, because he perfectly understands that people are honest and they will pay for good work - eventually.

7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

• Author: J. K. Rowling
• # of sold copies: 44 million
• First edition: 2007

Yet another fairy tale made it to our list, I'm beginning to think that people might like fairy tales after all... anyway, a lot of children around the world grew up on the stories about Harry, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and Hogwarts. As expected, the final piece of the Harry Potter puzzle with its quite original name Deathly Hallows was quite successful.

Only time will tell whether the Harry Potter series has the qualities of say Lord of the Rings or it will fade with the upcoming seasons. On the other hand, no one can deny Miss Rowling a great impact on both children and their parents - that has to count for something...

8. War and Peace

• Author: Leo Tolstoy
• # of sold copies: 36 million (in the USSR)
• First edition: 1869

Leo Tolstoy, a Russian writer, decided to demonstrate his beliefs that there is some greater power forming our history. Along with the fact he didn't like popular history and being a war veteran, he then wrote one of the largest and most popular novels in the world literature, War and Peace.

This jewel among books is divided in four volumes, each being a follow up of the previous one. War and Peace has indeed a lot of characters, both fictional and real historic figures. The plot is set in the beginning of the 19th century when Napoleon invades Russia.

Interesting fact is that although War and Peace is clearly a Russian literature from a Russian author, parts of the book are written in French - probably because most of the story is focused on 5 noble families and nobility in Russia used to speak French in that particular era.
9. Think and Grow Rich

• Author: Napoleon Hill
• # of sold copies: 30 million
• First edition: 1937

There are tons of motivational books these days. Some are better, some are worse and it's up to you to choose the one that can really help you. Think and Grow Rich is probably a safe bet, because it takes a bit of ingenuity to write something everybody knows these days - only 70 years ahead.

The best way how to become successful is to find out what others did before success came to them - and that's exactly what Napoleon Hill did. According to his mentor's (A. Carnegie) advice, he studied the life paths of 16 wealthy individuals and pointed out their steps to victory.

If you're looking for personal development tools, Think and Grow Rich should be on the top of your priorities.

10. Nineteen Eighty-Four

• Author: George Orwell
• # of sold copies: 25 million
• First edition:1949

History has shown us that mankind is capable of both terrible and good things and it's a matter of conscience which side prevails. George Orwell took the liberty to tell us how what the world look like if despotic and oppressive regimes took the upper hand.

In the imaginary year 1984 the Earth is divided among three major nations which constantly wage war against each other. The main character named Winston Smith lives in Oceania ruled by one party - called The Party. Everything is scarce, basic human right and emotions are constantly being twisted and above all, The Big Brother is always watching.

Although 1984 is quite gloomy and despairing, we have to acknowledge that it's still in our "grasp" to create such a scenario. It needed to be said out loud in order to realize how absurd and sick such totalitarian practices are.

Conclusion
Reading good books makes our lives better, because it brings us new perspectives and knowledge. Wise man knows that he never knows enough and reading several of the most popular books out there is almost a cultural necessity.