Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Stranger  By  cover art

The Stranger

By: Albert Camus
Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $11.17

Buy for $11.17

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Albert Camus' The Stranger is one of the most widely read novels in the world, with millions of copies sold. It stands as perhaps the greatest existentialist tale ever conceived, and is certainly one of the most important and influential books ever produced. Now, for the first time, this revered masterpiece is available as an unabridged audio production.

When a young Algerian named Meursault kills a man, his subsequent imprisonment and trial are puzzling and absurd. The apparently amoral Meursault, who puts little stock in ideas like love and God, seems to be on trial less for his murderous actions, and more for what the authorities believe is his deficient character.

This remarkable translation by Matthew Ward has been considered the definitive English version since its original publication. It unlocks the prose as no other English version has, allowing the listener to soak up the richness of Camus' ideas.

©1988 Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (P)2005 Recorded Books, LLC

Featured Article: J'adore—The Best French Authors to Listen to Now


Ah, France—the food. The wine. The style. From the City of Lights to the countryside, France is one of the most popular tourist destination spots in the world. But whether your French travel plans are on hold or you’re ready to take a virtual trip now, French literature is one of the best ways to get to know France’s fascinating history, people, and culture. Discover three centuries of the best French authors and their greatest works.

What listeners say about The Stranger

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3,300
  • 4 Stars
    1,570
  • 3 Stars
    714
  • 2 Stars
    196
  • 1 Stars
    100
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3,118
  • 4 Stars
    1,175
  • 3 Stars
    402
  • 2 Stars
    69
  • 1 Stars
    33
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,754
  • 4 Stars
    1,186
  • 3 Stars
    580
  • 2 Stars
    178
  • 1 Stars
    90

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Is amorality bad?

Existentialism: each individual is solely responsible for giving meaning to life. The accepted cultural morality is absurd and unacceptable. Camus created the character Mersault as the perfect example. He did it so well that I was struck by the amoral, not immoral, life experience of Meursault. He never lied, never considered yesterday and did not worry much about tomorrow. His life was lived now. Even the murder he commits is not enough to get him to feel remorse. In the final confrontation with the priest he verbalizes his "philosophy of life", every life is worth the same and there is no grand meaning to life and whether one lives or dies will not affect the rest of the world as everyone will go on living. Mersault demonstrated this after the death of his mother and as much as he preferred not to die, he knew that if it was today or twenty years from now, it would be the same. He would die and the universe would go on. Thought provoking, I enjoyed it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

64 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

At least it's short

Well ... I'm just not sure how to take this book. I realize it is a staple of 20th Century Literature because it is on every "must read" list I ever read, but it is not compelling to me. I guess I can sum it up by saying it is an expose of sorts on existentialism. There is no one in the book that I can really love, or even like for that matter. The characters that come closest are Marie, the girl friend, and the dog. Outside of that, I just couldn't get involved in it. I really think that Camus was not trying to get anyone to love or get involved with these characters, but rather, like a modern artist paints for the sake of the paint on the canvas, or a modern composer writes for the sake of the sounds you will hear without regard to whether or not you like the work, Camus seemed to have written this story in the same way. It is what it is. It took me nearly to the end of the book to figure out who the stranger is. But now I'm wondering if the stranger isn't really Camus himself.

Gist of the story. A guy's mother dies, and he finds that he can't really grieve for her because he can't see that it makes a difference whether she lives or dies, or whether he loved her or didn't, or whether he is sad or not. Then he has a girlfriend, and he can't see that it makes a difference if he loves her or not, or if they get married or not. He is willing to marry her because she wants him to marry her--although I cannot for the life of me imagine why she would want to marry him. So one night he shoots and kills a guy for no really good reason and is condemned to death by guillotine. He comes to grips with his own death because, as you might guess, he can't see that it matters if he lives or dies. As I said, it is what it is. I guess I felt a little sorry for him in the end, just because he seemed to have missed the whole point of living. Read it if you want to read something really different and dark, but not very fulfilling. It is short.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

48 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Classic book, excellent audiobook

The Ward translation of "The Stranger," while not universally loved (many prefer the Gilbert translation which I have not read), works well for this audiobook. The reading is well done and recorded properly. It is, pretty much, a perfect audiobook.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

43 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Superb Narration

A narrator is so important that he or she can make a bad book or break a good book.

In this case, a great book is done even more justice by the narration. Highly recommended.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

42 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Top notch translation

This was an excellent translation. (I had previously read the book in the original French.) The translator's notes at the end were very interesting. The narrator sounded exactly like I would imagine Meursault would have sounded if the book had originally been written in English.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

39 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

thank god for Robert Smith

the stranger.
From the cure’s first album came a song inspired by this book. the song is called killing an Arab. I remember the controversy t created in the Arab community and parts of the world. The albums soon required a sticker on the front that gave a brief explanation. It was something to the effect of: this song is not about hatred of Arabs. It is based on the character in the novel the stranger. I had never read this book but when I joined audible it popped in my mind and I got it.
Well thank god for Robert smith (the cure’s singer/songwriter) cuz I love this book. I listen to it over and over. I really identify with the main character. And seeing myself in him helped me too understand some of my natures and come to peace with them. Ahh it is a wonderful book. besides it’s philosophical character it is a great story. This is one of my favorite books.
best, Maynard

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

33 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A classic that is just a good now as in the 1940s

It seems a lifetime ago that I first encountered Camus in philosophy classes. I was haunted by him then and the effects have remained with me all these years so I was delighted to have an opportunity to go back to "The Stranger" and read/hear it again. It is fiction but as Camus said (loosely), the novel is just philosophy expressed graphically. It was written in the 1940s when the European world was embroiled in terrible conflicts that called into question all previous beliefs. The Existentialists like Sartre and Camus asked tough questions and this novel expresses those questions in the life of one ordinary man whose life has lost meaning. It is beautifully read and will haunt you.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

31 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Too clever by half

This book is one of those vaunted works of literature that seem to be intended for high-thinking students of literature rather than an ordinary reader like myself.

In my humble opinion, it did not succeed as a worthwhile or interesting story. The narration was fine, though.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

28 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

beautiful reading

I sat and listened almost non-stop to this excellent reading of The Sranger. Davis is obviously very familiar with the work and his rendition improved my understanding.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

27 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

fine reading

Another classic makes its way to audio in fine form. If you haven't read The Stranger since high school, you may be surprised by which details you remembered and which you forgot (something of a Rorschach in that respect). Regardless of recall, however, you are apt to get more out of this book the second time around, especially because of the version used and the narrator who gives the work a proper and penetrating rhythm that can be missed by the hurried eyes of a reader working the page.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

25 people found this helpful