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The Stranger
The Stranger, Malachy G. Carroll’s first effort as a novelist, follows a mysterious man—“The Stranger”—live with his true identity unknown in the seclusion of a remote Irish village. While a terrible secret from deep in his past sequesters the Stranger in anonymity, he impresses his neighbors with his quiet strength and generous charity. When the rumors about his past begin to swirl through the village, however, he will have to choose between revealing his true identity or forfeiting the good faith of his new friends. Written with vim, vigor, and much good humor, The Stranger is a moving story with an exhilarating finish, an accomplishment which puts Carroll on equal fotting as such talented Catholic novelists like Lloyd C. Douglas and Louis de Wohl.
196 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1952
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January 1, 2020
“If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.” Henry David Thoreau, Walden, 1854
Here on Goodreads, The Stranger, by Albert Camus, currently has over 6 hundred thousand ratings and over 20 thousand reviews. This book, also called, The Stranger, won’t even pull up on Goodreads, unless you enter the author’s name. There are too many other books by the same name. Only one other person besides me—as of this date anyway—has even read this book. Yet Cluny Media has seen fit to reprint this work, the solitary work of fiction by this author. And without blinking an eye, I would argue with anyone it has ten times the merit of Camus’ depressing ‘classic’.
Why? Because Life is hard enough and requires our cooperative participation for mere survival and so much more for any type of ‘success’, no matter how we define the word. Meursault, the indifferent French Algerian, Camus’ ‘stranger’, exhibits behaviors which can only create feelings of angst, ambivalence and confusion within readers—toward themselves, others, society, and the world. Does anyone really need more of these things? Do we as a society? Anyone familiar with the second law of thermodynamics knows it says, ‘when energy changes from one form to another form, or matter moves freely, entropy (disorder) in a closed system increases.’ In other words, disorder is natural; order requires effort, or work. Why would we need a piece of literature to teach us about how to become disordered when it is our natural state if we do not make any effort to work FOR order?
Malachy G. Carroll’s The Stranger, on the other hand, is a totally different type of story. It is a timeless story, the type which is an Eternal Classic. A classic in the best sense of the word. The main character, Michael Murray, is a stranger to be sure, but not to himself. He comes as a stranger, as a newcomer, to a small Irish village, with no ‘papers’. He is obviously hiding something, yet all he seems to be in search of is work, worship, a place to lay his head, and a community to serve. He finds a job at the struggling mill, which he helps the owner turn around to the ire of the man who had been fired just before he arrived. He attends Mass but shuns the local priest. He makes friends, but he also arouses suspicion because of the mystery surrounding him, which when it comes out, divides the community. It is a beautiful, up-lifting and wonderful story. It is appropriate for Young Adults and the writing is poetic. It deserves to be better known, certainly better than the other one. I know I will be reading it again and again. Knowing the outcome will not spoil it for me on subsequent reads, but I still won’t give it away.
I cannot recommend it too highly. Now available from Cluny along with many other great reprints of classic books. BTW, they frequently have sales of 30% off. I’m not on commission or anything, but I sure would like to help good Catholic publishers like them stay in business. Please support them if you can!
November 27, 2019: Almost read this entire book in one long night and a short one. I am on page 167 of 183 pages. Did not know there were SO many books with the title, The Stranger. I was only familiar with the horrible one by Camus. This one is almost its polar opposite and so good! Where the other is dark and negative, this is light, beautiful and affirming without being smarmy or pollyannish. Wish I did not have to set it down for Thanksgiving preps, but grateful it has put me in-the-mood for this holiday of gratitude. GREAT book! Humor too! And, the sole fiction effort by the author. I really must check out more books by Cluny Media. Thanksgiving Blessings to all!
Here on Goodreads, The Stranger, by Albert Camus, currently has over 6 hundred thousand ratings and over 20 thousand reviews. This book, also called, The Stranger, won’t even pull up on Goodreads, unless you enter the author’s name. There are too many other books by the same name. Only one other person besides me—as of this date anyway—has even read this book. Yet Cluny Media has seen fit to reprint this work, the solitary work of fiction by this author. And without blinking an eye, I would argue with anyone it has ten times the merit of Camus’ depressing ‘classic’.
Why? Because Life is hard enough and requires our cooperative participation for mere survival and so much more for any type of ‘success’, no matter how we define the word. Meursault, the indifferent French Algerian, Camus’ ‘stranger’, exhibits behaviors which can only create feelings of angst, ambivalence and confusion within readers—toward themselves, others, society, and the world. Does anyone really need more of these things? Do we as a society? Anyone familiar with the second law of thermodynamics knows it says, ‘when energy changes from one form to another form, or matter moves freely, entropy (disorder) in a closed system increases.’ In other words, disorder is natural; order requires effort, or work. Why would we need a piece of literature to teach us about how to become disordered when it is our natural state if we do not make any effort to work FOR order?
Malachy G. Carroll’s The Stranger, on the other hand, is a totally different type of story. It is a timeless story, the type which is an Eternal Classic. A classic in the best sense of the word. The main character, Michael Murray, is a stranger to be sure, but not to himself. He comes as a stranger, as a newcomer, to a small Irish village, with no ‘papers’. He is obviously hiding something, yet all he seems to be in search of is work, worship, a place to lay his head, and a community to serve. He finds a job at the struggling mill, which he helps the owner turn around to the ire of the man who had been fired just before he arrived. He attends Mass but shuns the local priest. He makes friends, but he also arouses suspicion because of the mystery surrounding him, which when it comes out, divides the community. It is a beautiful, up-lifting and wonderful story. It is appropriate for Young Adults and the writing is poetic. It deserves to be better known, certainly better than the other one. I know I will be reading it again and again. Knowing the outcome will not spoil it for me on subsequent reads, but I still won’t give it away.
I cannot recommend it too highly. Now available from Cluny along with many other great reprints of classic books. BTW, they frequently have sales of 30% off. I’m not on commission or anything, but I sure would like to help good Catholic publishers like them stay in business. Please support them if you can!
November 27, 2019: Almost read this entire book in one long night and a short one. I am on page 167 of 183 pages. Did not know there were SO many books with the title, The Stranger. I was only familiar with the horrible one by Camus. This one is almost its polar opposite and so good! Where the other is dark and negative, this is light, beautiful and affirming without being smarmy or pollyannish. Wish I did not have to set it down for Thanksgiving preps, but grateful it has put me in-the-mood for this holiday of gratitude. GREAT book! Humor too! And, the sole fiction effort by the author. I really must check out more books by Cluny Media. Thanksgiving Blessings to all!
February 2, 2021
This book is almost well written. Perhaps with some cultivation Carroll could have been a stronger writer. I have outlined below my chief criticisms of this book.
1. Overwritten. The prose is pseudo-poetic, and the strained effort of the author to write descriptions as ornamental as possible becomes dreadfully obvious the more you read. Some common signs of this are the excessive use of metaphors and similes, sometimes several on a single page; the effect, as is the case with most overwritten prose (Lord of the Rings comes to mind), is the use of many words and much space that conveys very little. The trick is to write in a way that builds a sense of atmosphere. I won't digress on this point, but I think Dickens, Tolstoy, and Edwin O'Connor are excellent examples of successful writing for this very reason.
2. Poor character development. The characters are endlessly described in the metaphorical, pseudo-poetic style, but very little is actually said about them. Most are simply too perfect to be plausible. Father Seumas, for example: Does he have a single flaw? And yes, as a Catholic, I understand individuals are made perfect by God's grace as they progress through the spiritual life. But I'm not referring only to moral flaws. Father Seumas is never, as far as I recall, described as having a single flaw of any kind: clumsiness, a speech impediment, a little extra weight, saying the wrong thing with the right intentions, impatience, ignorance, anything. [Father] Michael Murray is the same way. This is one of those stories where characters are either perfectly good or perfectly evil. Luke is the only exception, but he was poorly developed as well. We're to understand that he's fallen into bad habits but desires salvation. Carroll pretty much makes that the sum of his character, until he finally chooses one or the other at the end.
3. Weak story construction. A well-written novel builds with successive episodes of rising action, often with many characters and sub-plots interwoven throughout. It takes planning and an intricacy of deliberation. "The Stranger" lacked this. Mr. McGough's weak relationship with his wife, for example, is not described until over half way through the book, and yet these characters have been present since the opening chapter. And, to make it worse, the conflict in their relationship is almost entirely solved as soon as it's presented to the reader! It's almost like it was an afterthought. Similar examples can be found throughout the book: story details that spring up unexpectedly, only to disappear or be rendered pointless soon after. I think one of the reasons for this is that Carroll doesn't seem to know the purpose of his story. Yes, it's about a man unfairly accused who is vindicated in the end. But is that it? There's opportunity here for commentary on how people get swept away in the passion of a mob, or the necessity of forgiveness. Themes such as these show through weakly at times, but never take center stage. I suppose you could say it's about the importance of carrying your cross, and that wouldn't be a message without value certainly, but it resembles a moral platitude that's dramatized somewhat superficially and without realism.
A further example of poor story construction are the absurd contrivances of plot: 1) The stranger (Murray) ends up in the same village as the man who framed him; 2) Patch, the primary villain of the story, just happens to be the brother of the man who framed Murray; 3) Luke's sudden death without any sort of precedent; 4) Murray just happens to be passing by Luke as he's dying in the middle of the road -- at night -- in the rain. (Seriously?); 5) For no plausible reason, Murray passes out after giving Luke absolution. There's no explanation for this beyond his ecstasy at once again performing the sacrament. And then he becomes sick for days. Clearly this is meant to be dramatic and it allows for plenty of sentimental scenes between Murray and Father Seumas and Nell. The illness is without reasonable cause. It's an excuse for these scenes that Carroll obviously wanted to write, whether the context called for it or not.
Despite being written in the early twentieth century, Carroll seemed to have been writing in the romantic tradition. Whether he did so consciously or unconsciously I can't say for sure, though I'd be inclined to guess the latter. I suspect he was a very good person and Catholics who are looking for the antithesis to contemporary works that seem fixated on sex and despair, are likely to find a kind of comforting relief in this book. I wouldn't discourage someone from reading it, as long as they recognize it's technical failures as I've outlined above. I could certainly understand how someone would enjoy this book. Personally, however, I would recommend Edwin O'Connor's "The Edge of Sadness" or Georgos Bernanos's "The Diary of a Country Priest".
I would like to conclude by thanking Cluny Media for publishing these sorts of books. Although I didn't prefer this particular title, I have bought other excellent books from them that would otherwise have been out of print.
1. Overwritten. The prose is pseudo-poetic, and the strained effort of the author to write descriptions as ornamental as possible becomes dreadfully obvious the more you read. Some common signs of this are the excessive use of metaphors and similes, sometimes several on a single page; the effect, as is the case with most overwritten prose (Lord of the Rings comes to mind), is the use of many words and much space that conveys very little. The trick is to write in a way that builds a sense of atmosphere. I won't digress on this point, but I think Dickens, Tolstoy, and Edwin O'Connor are excellent examples of successful writing for this very reason.
2. Poor character development. The characters are endlessly described in the metaphorical, pseudo-poetic style, but very little is actually said about them. Most are simply too perfect to be plausible. Father Seumas, for example: Does he have a single flaw? And yes, as a Catholic, I understand individuals are made perfect by God's grace as they progress through the spiritual life. But I'm not referring only to moral flaws. Father Seumas is never, as far as I recall, described as having a single flaw of any kind: clumsiness, a speech impediment, a little extra weight, saying the wrong thing with the right intentions, impatience, ignorance, anything. [Father] Michael Murray is the same way. This is one of those stories where characters are either perfectly good or perfectly evil. Luke is the only exception, but he was poorly developed as well. We're to understand that he's fallen into bad habits but desires salvation. Carroll pretty much makes that the sum of his character, until he finally chooses one or the other at the end.
3. Weak story construction. A well-written novel builds with successive episodes of rising action, often with many characters and sub-plots interwoven throughout. It takes planning and an intricacy of deliberation. "The Stranger" lacked this. Mr. McGough's weak relationship with his wife, for example, is not described until over half way through the book, and yet these characters have been present since the opening chapter. And, to make it worse, the conflict in their relationship is almost entirely solved as soon as it's presented to the reader! It's almost like it was an afterthought. Similar examples can be found throughout the book: story details that spring up unexpectedly, only to disappear or be rendered pointless soon after. I think one of the reasons for this is that Carroll doesn't seem to know the purpose of his story. Yes, it's about a man unfairly accused who is vindicated in the end. But is that it? There's opportunity here for commentary on how people get swept away in the passion of a mob, or the necessity of forgiveness. Themes such as these show through weakly at times, but never take center stage. I suppose you could say it's about the importance of carrying your cross, and that wouldn't be a message without value certainly, but it resembles a moral platitude that's dramatized somewhat superficially and without realism.
A further example of poor story construction are the absurd contrivances of plot: 1) The stranger (Murray) ends up in the same village as the man who framed him; 2) Patch, the primary villain of the story, just happens to be the brother of the man who framed Murray; 3) Luke's sudden death without any sort of precedent; 4) Murray just happens to be passing by Luke as he's dying in the middle of the road -- at night -- in the rain. (Seriously?); 5) For no plausible reason, Murray passes out after giving Luke absolution. There's no explanation for this beyond his ecstasy at once again performing the sacrament. And then he becomes sick for days. Clearly this is meant to be dramatic and it allows for plenty of sentimental scenes between Murray and Father Seumas and Nell. The illness is without reasonable cause. It's an excuse for these scenes that Carroll obviously wanted to write, whether the context called for it or not.
Despite being written in the early twentieth century, Carroll seemed to have been writing in the romantic tradition. Whether he did so consciously or unconsciously I can't say for sure, though I'd be inclined to guess the latter. I suspect he was a very good person and Catholics who are looking for the antithesis to contemporary works that seem fixated on sex and despair, are likely to find a kind of comforting relief in this book. I wouldn't discourage someone from reading it, as long as they recognize it's technical failures as I've outlined above. I could certainly understand how someone would enjoy this book. Personally, however, I would recommend Edwin O'Connor's "The Edge of Sadness" or Georgos Bernanos's "The Diary of a Country Priest".
I would like to conclude by thanking Cluny Media for publishing these sorts of books. Although I didn't prefer this particular title, I have bought other excellent books from them that would otherwise have been out of print.
May 15, 2022
This probably belongs to a very specific genre, so it would probably be unfair to judge it by the criteria of all other genres.
BUT, I'm going to judge it anyway! If you are looking for greeting card language and sentiments, this is the book for you. I believe the author was attempting to inspire his readers to Godliness, but for me it was just drivel. Stereotypes, no real characterization. Maybe it was supposed to be a parable, because the author persisted in calling the M.C. "the stranger" even after we'd learned his name? IDK. If you're looking for , you'd be much better off with The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene.
BUT, I'm going to judge it anyway! If you are looking for greeting card language and sentiments, this is the book for you. I believe the author was attempting to inspire his readers to Godliness, but for me it was just drivel. Stereotypes, no real characterization. Maybe it was supposed to be a parable, because the author persisted in calling the M.C. "the stranger" even after we'd learned his name? IDK. If you're looking for , you'd be much better off with The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews