Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

Our February 2016 Short Story Read is The Stranger by Albert Camus, Published in 1942, 123 pages.

I've read two books by Camus - this one which I thought was great and The Plague which I just couldn't get into. I found them quite different, although I could see the similarities. He definitely gives you philosophical things to think about. Looking forward to reading everyone else's thoughts.

Emily, I thought those scenes were excellent.

I'm going to read this. I've read it before but a long time ago.

Decided to get this one done an dusted quickly before I start moving house. As Emily said the dispassion and disinterest of the protagonist is rather intreguing, worrysome and yet not unrelateable.
I have to say my favorite part was the jail visit as I feel the author did well in his differing portail of the two main cultures involved.

um should the title of the folder be 2015? or 2016

This was a lovely read, although not exactly what I was expecting. I'm not even sure WHAT I was expecting.

The Stranger is one of my favorite novels and I have read it several time, most recently for last month. Camus is one of my favorite writers. Camus, like Sarte, Kafka and several other writers, were existentialists. Existentialism is a philosophical movement that is primarily concerned with the question: How do people find meaning in life when life is absurd and makes no sense? The writers I cited ignored or rejected a religious answer to that question. Christian existentialism is found in other writers before and after Camus' time.

Camus' novels, like Sarte's and other existentialist writers, are philosophical novels. They are allegories or parables where the explict story is a framework for the implied philosophical questions that the author invites each reader to consider.

I am very comfortable with this book and would be glad to guide those interested in learning how to observe the philosophical aspects of the novel. My observations and suggestions would be my own, not some summarized canned answers on the web or "study notes." There are no cut and dried answers here, but an understanding of how The Stranger invites examination of basic existentialist questions gives the reader an advantage in understanding the same questions and methods in the works of other existentialists.

If there is interest in this type of evaluation let me know.

Dave wrote: "The Stranger is one of my favorite novels and I have read it several time, most recently for last month. Camus is one of my favorite writers. Camus, like Sarte, Kafka and several other writers, wer..."

I, for one, would love to have your assistance in evaluating and understanding this novel. I will be reading it sometime this week - it shouldn't take too long.

Thanks for your offer.

Bat-Cat wrote: "Dave wrote: "The Stranger is one of my favorite novels and I have read it several time, most recently for last month. Camus is one of my favorite writers. Camus, like Sarte, Kafka and several other..."

If there is interest Bat-Cat I propose to move through the the book section by section suggesting what to look for and questions readers should ask themselves. Then after some discussion, I would share how I would answer the questions and why, then we could have a second round of discussion before moving to the next section. However, I do recommend reading the whole book through before going back for a more detailed look. Its a short book and it is helpful to have a first impression of the whole story. About all I got out of it the first time I read it was "that was weird" ;-)

I have just finished The Meursault Investigation, which is written from the POV of the brother of the Arab (view spoiler)[shot on the beach (hide spoiler)]. Obviously, it's too new to be a classic yet, but it's a very interesting response to Camus' book.

Lagullande wrote: "I have just finished The Meursault Investigation, which is written from the POV of the brother of the Arab [spoilers removed]. Obviously, it's too new to be a classic yet, but it's ..."

I ran across that not long ago Lagullande. It looks good and I have it on my to-read list. However, I would not recommend it to those who are new to The Stranger. I think The Stranger merits understanding in its own context before being evaluated beside the perspective of the same evens by a different character in a story that probably reflects today's values.

Dave, I'm intrigued :)

Dave wrote: "Bat-Cat wrote: "Dave wrote: "The Stranger is one of my favorite novels and I have read it several time, most recently for last month. Camus is one of my favorite writers. Camus, like Sarte, Kafka a..."

Well, if there are others who have an interest in this I will certainly participate. I guess the first thing to do either way is to read the book. ;-)

So, with all this talk about the various editions, would someone please tell me (perhaps provide a link to) which edition is the uncut, uncensored one. Thanks!

Bat-Cat I read this edition:The Stranger and listened to the same Audiobook. Its available in paperback and hardback. I am aware of no translation issues that would recommend one translation over another. If it was censored at some point (I don't remember that) modern translations are uncensored. Dave

THANK YOU, Dave!
I would love to be guided through!

I've read half today and will read the second half tomorrow.
So far, I absolutely feel the "absurdism". I feel like getting into the story and floating above it at the same time. To understand and not to understand it at the same time... To have the protagonist's feelings written about but still feeling not to know him at all... To be shown a kind of snapshot of his life without knowing anything around it....
Does that make any sense at all?

Phil wrote: "THANK YOU, Dave!
I would love to be guided through!

I've read half today and will read the second half tomorrow.
So far, I absolutely feel the "absurdism". I feel like getting into the story and ..."

Sounds like your off to a good start Phil.

Bob has encouraged me to follow through on the guided reading project. For those who wish to participate here is what I propose:

On Sunday the 7th I'll post some background on the book to make sure we all have the same info. I'll also post remarks about how I wrestle with a book like The Stranger and what I hope to share with you.

We'll start on Tuesday the 9th to give all a chance to read the book through once. I'm on US Central time. That morning I'll post remarks and suggest questions to consider.

We'll pause for 24 hours for you to consider a portion of the book and come to your own conclusions. This isn't class and you are welcome to share and collaborate by message. But I would ask that responses not be posted until I ask for posts the next day. I find myself very tempted just to agree with a previous post and I'd like those who are participating to have the breathing room to consider their response without this temptation.

Then we will have a 24 hour period to discuss and question all responses.

Then we will move to the next section of the book and repeat the two day cycle just described.

At the end we will do an overview and go through a two day cycle examining the whole book.

We will start off slow with short segments to allow folks to get into the groove. Then we will move to larger portions divided by events in the book. I estimate it will take about two weeks to complete our tour.

If you have suggestions or questions about this proposal let me know. Nothing is set in stone.

I have experience in leading book discussions in person but not on Goodreads. I have no formal education in literature or professional teaching experience.

Dave

I am at the halfway point and plan to finish it today or tomorrow (the advantages of being injured with not much else to do). So far, I want to jump into the book and slap this guy. What a completely unlikable character, and he is surrounded by other characters that are just as bad! He has no feelings about his own life, but constantly projects thoughts and feelings onto others with no evidence that they are even paying attention to him. It is odd for a first person narrative to be so dry, just skimming the surface of what is going on without digging in. I feel like this is going to be one of those books that I enjoy but then throw against the wall when I'm finished.

Dave wrote: "Bob has encouraged me to follow through on the guided reading project. For those who wish to participate here is what I propose:

This sounds great to me.

I'm waiting for my copy to come up at the library, then I'll join in...
Thanks for leading a discussion Dave!

Paula wrote: "I am at the halfway point and plan to finish it today or tomorrow (the advantages of being injured with not much else to do). So far, I want to jump into the book and slap this guy. What a complete..."

Paula,
Please don't jump into the book and slap the guy! Even if it's not your hand or arm that is injured. You're still in disadvantage. Plus, since you're half through the book you know that he can respond inadequately.. But that's not the major point. Maybe try to understand him. Maybe by the end of the book you'll like him. And if you slapped him, you'd be sorry:).

Nathan wrote: "This was a lovely read, although not exactly what I was expecting. I'm not even sure WHAT I was expecting."

This is exactly how I feel half way through. I am intrigued and interested but it isn't what I was expecting, yet again if you asked me what I was expecting I don't think I could explain.

Annie wrote: "Nathan wrote: "This was a lovely read, although not exactly what I was expecting. I'm not even sure WHAT I was expecting."

This is exactly how I feel half way through. I am intrigued and intereste..."

I’m one of the bewildered. I had no idea what to expect and no prior experience with Albert Camus. It was the selected monthly short story, so I picked up a copy from the library. A couple of days go by and I’m finished reading the book thinking, I liked it. My next thought was, why? I have no satisfactory answer. At times I liked the character and other times I disliked him. Was he arrogant or stupid? Was he treated justly or unjustly? I’ve so many questions. I liked the writing and the story was interesting, but for some reason it left me unsatisfied.

I’m glad Dave is going to take some time to shed a little light on the story. I’m always interested to learn from members who are willing to share their knowledge about a favorite book.

As a reader, I thought The Stranger was good and I liked it, but not necessarily overwhelmingly so. I would love to hear Dave's spin on the story. But, as a psych major, I found Meursault to be quite fascinating and a textbook case of an antisocial disorder.

Ciera wrote: "As a reader, I thought The Stranger was good and I liked it, but not necessarily overwhelmingly so. I would love to hear Dave's spin on the story. But, as a psych major, I found Meursault to be qui..."

Hold that thought Ciera, we'll get back to it before we are done. Remind us again near the end if it hasn't been discussed.

An observation.
Last year I read The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M Cain, the book that was published earlier than The Stranger.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

I had already read The Stranger at least once before that one. So now it is very hard for me to believe that A. Camus did not read TPART and it didn’t affect him on The Stranger. It is not that the two books are similar. Yet there are so many parallels between them. And the style. The styles are very similar. And we know Camus can write very differently. Take The Fall, for instance, in which the style is almost the opposite.
Maybe it is well known and documented fact that one book was inspired by the other?

Just finished it.
I LOVED the second part of the story and the killing scene itself.
The first half was very confusing and I kept asking myself why he's writing about those things. They seemed random. Reading the second part, however, it all started to make sense.
I don't know why, but I felt deeply sorry for Meursault. He seemed to be a passive passenger of his own life not able to change anything for good or bad.
I've also started wondering about the title. L'Étranger, the Stranger... In my opinion, it fits perfectly. Meursault is a stranger in the world he lives in. He does not understand it and the world does not understand him. As if they cannot communicate with each other. As if everything they say is distorted into another meaning.

Side note: For how long did they conduct beheadings as capital punishment? Thinking of la Guillotine I think of the French Revolution and the "Republic of liberté, égalité, fraternité and death" according to Dickens. I've always thought that they got rid of it quickly after that dreadful time.
I've just googled it. Last execution by Guillotine in France in 1977!?!

Phil wrote: "I've just googled it. Last execution by Guillotine in France in 1977!?! ."


That is crazy! I actually had the same thought as I was finishing the book and was wondering when they stopped using the Guillotine.

Phil wrote: "....I've also started wondering about the title. L'Étranger, the Stranger..."

I always knew the title translated as "The Outsider", which I prefer to "The Stranger".

Words can often mean more than one thing but the most obvious translation of "étranger" would actually be "foreigner".
At the time the final version of the book was written, that meaning had become especially politically charged as it was tied to the persecution of Jews. In Algeria, the issue had taken a particularly weird turn as local Jews had been granted the French nationality on account of their religion and that was reversed during WWII, alienating them from the Europeans generations after they been alienated from the Muslims.
The odd status of Algeria itself (at the time for the most part technically united with France while the majority of the population were denied French nationality) makes it not quite clear who, muderer or victim, truly is the foreigner on that beach. For all the distance the narrator puts between himself and Algerian Muslims, they have that lack of security in common if nothing else.
Some of the book's ambiguity is lost in translation...

The main character's name sounds like "dies a fool" by the way.
I think English readers ought to keep that in mind when considering the ending.

Phil wrote: "Thinking of la Guillotine I think of the French Revolution and the "Republic of liberté, égalité, fraternité and death" according to Dickens. I've always thought that they got rid of it quickly after that dreadful time."
Unsurprisingly, by and large the French didn't share Dickens' opinions.
Myths, politics and wars between France and Britain aside, I'd much rather be executed by a guillotine than by hanging for instance. And as efficient as it was, the device hasn't been used to kill that many people. The true butchers of the time used even faster methods.

I agree that hanging is worse.

I think "foreigner" also works perfectly for what I felt: the communication barrier and the not understanding of each other.
A foreigner coming to a new land is a stranger to the native people due to this communication problem and therefore could be alienated from society and become an outsider.

Thank you, Outis, for clearing that up! I think some things are really lost in translation.

My old cheap penguin copy from the 60s is actually called The Outsider, which I think is the title it used to be published under. I wonder why the change, if they thought it wasn't translated properly before and The Stranger was more a more suitable title? I can see why they wouldn't have chosen to call it The Foreigner either. I prefer the title The Outsider, I think it fits the story better.

It's not just old translations that have "The Outsider".
That title fits and there's nothing wrong with having a personal preference for it. Yet it assumes a particular interpretation... that it's still being pushed on unsuspecting readers illustrates rather well the single-minded way the whole story has been received by the English-speaking literati, I'd say.
It's not just the title. Much ink has been spilled about the liberties some translators have taken with the body of the text...

Dave wrote: "Bob has encouraged me to follow through on the guided reading project. For those who wish to participate here is what I propose:..."

This sounds like a great idea. We're covering the Algeria war in French class, so I decided to try this book in the original French. So far the language is understandable but Meursault makes no sense to me. It will be good to see other opinions.

Tanika wrote: "
This sounds like a great idea. We're covering the ..."

Look forward to exchanging ideas with you Tanika. It will be great to have someone with us who is reading in French.

As I've worked on developing our tour I've realized the benefit of teamwork. I will post three introductory messages tomorrow and the first questions on Tuesday. Several people have let me know they will participate. Now is not too soon to post on the thread if you are interested in finding a buddy for the tour. Buddy collaboration will be done by message during the tour.

Dave wrote: "As I've worked on developing our tour I've realized the benefit of teamwork. I will post three introductory messages tomorrow and the first questions on Tuesday. Several people have let me know the..."

I will be finishing The Stranger today and look forward to joining in this "tour". I don't have any idea how it will work but I am certain that all will be revealed. Having said that, I guess I am open for a Buddy. :)

Bat-Cat wrote: "Dave wrote: "As I've worked on developing our tour I've realized the benefit of teamwork. I will post three introductory messages tomorrow and the first questions on Tuesday. Several people have le..."

Thanks Bat-Cat, when you read what I post today, I think you will see the benefit of having a buddy.

First some background about Camus and The Stranger to get us to a shared starting point. Camus is referred to as an existentialist and his books and plays as literary expressions of his philosopy. He repeatedly denied he was an existentialist and made the distinction that he was an absurdist. We don't always get to choose how we are remembered. The world decided that the difference between these terms was too small to matter and lumped him and his works with existentialists. Existentialism is a big beast of a philosophy that goes back at least to the mid-nineteenth century and continues today. It has lots of flavors and toppings which you can explore at your leasure. What I'd like to sum up here is the historical and intellectual circumstance of The Stranger's creation. Before WWII Camus had evolved through a couple of varieties of communism and been an anarchist. When WWII broke out he became a pacifist. He changed his mind when the Nazis occupied Paris. We all are generally aware of that part of European history. But Camus was born and raised in Algeria and The Stranger is set in Algeria. The history of French colonization of Algeria is relevant both to understanding some aspects of the novel as well as its author. A good brief overview of what you need to know for our purposes can be found in the History of French Colonialinisation section of the Algeria Article on Wikipedia here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algeria

Camus' novels and plays are closly associated with the philosophy he advocated in his essays and other nonfiction works. Was he a writer with a philosophy or a philosopher who wrote plays and novels? I won't go down that rabbithole. If you have a philosophy to advocate why not write philosophy books and lecture at a University? He did write nonfiction about his philosophy But Camus' philosophical ideas are not ivory tower ideas. At least he didn't want them to be. Think about it, in 1942 he lived in a Europe that had been conquored by the Nazis. Looking back across the previous 30 years (for an equivalent historic view look back to 1986 from today) he saw a Europe that had experienced the horrors of WWI, the Russian Revolution, the carving up of the Ottoman Empire, the Spanish Flu of 1918 that killed millions, the rise of Mussolini, Stalin, and Hitler, the Great Depression, the rise of Nationalism in Japan,the intellectual dissallusionment with the ideals of communism, and the beginning of another world war more horrific than the one twenty years before. With this perspective it doesn't seem unusual to me that Camus felt the world was absurd. If the world was absurd what is the meaning of life, why bother with anything? Camus felt that a lot of thinking people would come to the same conclusion. He wanted to give his audience hope that they could find meaning in an absurd world. He wanted to reach an audience that could not be reached in a philosophy book or a lecture hall. So he wrote novels and plays that were allegories to illustrates his ideas on how to find meaning in an absurd world. (An allegory is a story in which the plot and characters actually represent something outside the story.) Why allegories? Why not just tell us the answer? Well, these answers are specific to each individual and are reoccurring in our lives. And strangely, these answers are like the answers in Algebra I, knowing how to get the answer is part of the answer (remember 1/2 credit on math tests if you don't show your work?).

Fun-filled fact. Camus wrote The Stranger, his first major book, in 1942 with the Nazi's occupying France. He was 29. When he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1957 he was the second youngest (44) writer to win that prize in its history after Kipling (42).

Dave wrote: "Bat-Cat wrote: "Dave wrote: "As I've worked on developing our tour I've realized the benefit of teamwork. I will post three introductory messages tomorrow and the first questions on Tuesday. Severa..."

I have no doubt that I will. I am finding The Stranger to be quite intriguing and see that it can be understood?/appreciated on many different levels. Although I am not quite finished I am beginning to think of Camus as an absolute genius to have succeeded in accomplishing this multilevel/multidimensional work of fiction in so few words. I am really looking forward to yours and others comments and observations. Thanks in advance for taking on this project for us.

1. What to expect on our tour. I find reading classics entertaining but that is a bonus. What I hope to get out of the effort of reading classics is a better understanding myself and the world. The reading part is a matter of perserverance. The understanding part is the challenge.

2. This is a get-off-the-bus, get-down-in-the-literary-mud and wrestle with intellectual alligators kind of a learning tour. If you stay on the air conditioned bus reading the tour brochure you're not going to get your monies worth. The intellectual alligators don't bite and are handicap accessible so don't be shy. Please don't feed the alligators. No refunds.

3. As I said, The Stranger is an allegory. How do I know? My rough cut answer: its not a realitic story, or if it is it sucks. Does this book merit a nobel prize for its realism? Boiled down and translated to modern american English, the literal story can be summed up as "Life sucks and then you die." To understand it as allegory readers have to seperate literal meaning from implied (allegorical) meaning and then figure out what the implied meaning means to them. Additionally, we will be examing the literary meaning. The literary meaning the can help understand both the literal and implied meaning. The tour is about learning to do that using the process I'm sharing.

4. The process I am going to share is an mental process I developed through trial and error over the last seven years. It is a very personal process for me. I'm interested in understanding my own conclusions and understanding how I came to those conclusions. I'm not interested winning debates in book discussions. I actively seek to isolate myself from opinions and analysis outside the text while reading and processing. Goodreads is about sharing ideas and reading experiences not about personal revelation so the personal aspect is on hold on the tour. Laid out in black and white the process looks formal, intimidating and tedious with limited reward. It was challenging to share this in-person with groups in the past, I expect it to be more challenging in this form, both for me and you.

5. What I explain below will probably make little sense to many before we finish section one. I will be glad to try and answer questions now, but I don't expect any real understanding of the process until we start going through it. Note the number of this post to refer back to as we go. If I later post something that muddles or contradicts what is in this post ask about it.

6. The process involves "close reading." If you are not familiar with what that involves, read the Wikipedia article here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Close... . Close reading is also part of the Common Core Standards in education. I recommend you just focus on what Wikipedia says for our purpose. The Wikipedia article lists 7 "Core Notice and Note Signposts". I'm not familiar with those terms or their definitions. Right before the tour starts is not the time for the guide to be trying to figure out new alligator wrestling gear. So I'm going to stick with what I explain below. Feel free to use the Wikipedia list if you find it helpful. I can't guarantee I'll be able to answer your questions about those terms. As I close read the the text I use various "tools" and techniques to tease out "responses." But before I get to that I have to come up with usually two layers of questions. The first layer of questions helps me identify unusual or possibly significant things in a section of text. The second layer of questions is usually some iteration of "why". Not why is this happening in the plot, but why did the author write something the way they did and how might that contribute to my understanding.

7. On the tour I am going to suggest the first layer of questions for each section so you don't have mess with that, but coming up with your own questions is an important part of the process. I will try to remember to explain why I suggested a question when I close out a section. If I forget to or its unclear please ask.

8. Here is a sample first level question, my response, and my explaination.

1B What happens in paragraph one?

A1B Literally - The narrator learns by telegram that his mother died and reacts with confusion and uncertainty. Literarily - a dramatic event and character information are disclosed suddenly and with brevity. Allegorically - the story begins with death, confusion and uncertainty.

Guide's Explaination: The beginning paragraph of The Stranger is dramatic and invites closer examination. In this process, ask more questions of a portion of text that seem unusual or interesting in some way. For sharing purposes: in normal reading I would read this first page in less than 5 seconds and turn to the page without a thought. I've come up with this process to give myself option to get more out of books that I can't easily digest. I don't want to depend on outside expertise or other's opinions.

9. It is a subjective process but one that I find rewards practice. For any section of text, there is no one set of questions. I use trial and error. I think up a question, pose it to my close reading of a part the text and see if sparks a thought. I don't literally create questions in my mind, but to communicate the process I have to formalize how I move through the process mentally. I don't normally write down questions but did when I first started trying to do this. I may spend time looking at the page while thinking about a question, but just as often I am off doing something else and have a eureka moment.

10. There are certain broad categories of first layer questions I have found particularly valuable to explore. Here are some.

A) What is different? Different from your personal experience or previous knowledge (including other books, television and movies). Different between what you thought at the beginning of the book and later in the book. For most of the examples I can think of you, the reader, are on one side of the difference equation and the text is on the other. Be cautious about dismissing differences between now and then (the time the book was written, not the time in which the story is set). Most fiction written more than a generation ago will have a "then" and a "now" context of meaning relating to cultural values etc. The tour will focus on the now context but I will point out then context meanings that may interest you. In my opinion the implied meaning of The Stranger has a universal, timeless quality so that probly won't be of much concern. In this process, getting older has advantages and this category of questions and those in category B below are a big part of the reason why. I have read The Stranger four times over forty-five years. The first time in college - I thought it was a weird story, the second and third time in my 20's and 30's -- it made more sense each time but in a vague way that I didnt take the time to think about. The fourth time last month using the process - I GET IT! Think about what seems specifically different to you. When you identify something go to layer two.

B) What is the lowest common denominator between you and the text? A character's horse was stolen. I never had a horse, but my car was stolen once. We each had our transportation stolen, LCD! Go back to A above and consider differences between the text description of the stolen horse episode and your experience, emotions, consequences when your car was stolen. Then proceed to layer two.

C) Look for stylistic devices, rhetorical devices and figures of speech. We know writers have different styles and that their style affects how they tell the story and how we experience it. I rarely consciously think about the writer's style or even what identifies a writer's style. Components can include various specific devices and figures of speech within the three large categories I listed in my first sentence of this paragraph. You can look those up on Wikipedia if interested. I only know a handful of the names, categories, and definitions of specific devices and figures. This limits how much I can use this category. Experience in close reading has trained me to notice unusual word patterns that are often related to the specifics of style. Some I can recognize as a specific device and, reminding myself of the definition, think about why it is used. On the tour if I recognize something in this category I will suggest a very specific question or just make an observation when I close out a section. If you recognize stylistic devices that I don't let us know and we can discuss it.

D) Silences can be deafening. What a writer does not include in a story may be as important as what they do. It is a good way for a story to say a lot in a relatively brief book, as Camus does in The Stranger. Conversely, silences focus the reader's attention on what is included. Challenges for the reader are a) noticing the silences (see category A above) b) deciding whether a silence is significant or not. Again, practice makes perfect.

E) How you relate to the story and characters as you read may be significant. Be mindful of your feelings and response as you read. Ask questions that help identify what specifically in the text you are responding to. Is your response consistent to your reading of other similar stories you read or personal experiences? Does your response evolve as you move through the story? As you find differences go to category A above.

F) Patterns in the text are important. Authors create such patterns to convey meaning. Look for patterns within sentences, among sentences, among paragraphs, chapters, sections and the whole book. Examples will be identified as we move through the book along with suggestions about how they inform meaning. When text is translated, as here, patterns can be distorted or even destroyed. Good translators seek to preserve patterns and stylistic meaning but that may not be possible. Just be aware.

11. Many of you may already know those categories - formally, informally or instinctively as experienced readers. I make no claim on originality, just that I find myself using them regularly in the process. Ask lots of questions about the process on the tour. This type learning is driven by your questions. I have not met anyone else who uses this kind of interpretive process but my contact with other readers has been limited. If you don't know or are unsure of something others are in the same boat. If you really feel uncomfortable asking in open discussion, send me a message. If appropriate for the group, I'll mention it anonymously in open discussion after helping you by message.

Tour etiquette I suggest to keep the tour on topic and productive.

1. Guidelines I will try to follow:

A. I will post introductions to sections, notices of when each answer and comment period begins, and section closeout comments in the early morning (US Central Time). The first section begins Tuesday morning 9 February, first comment period begins Wednesday morning 10 February, section 1 closes out 11 February and section 2 begins Friday morning 12 February etc. See tour schedule in message 19 above. Schedule is flexible.

B. I would never deliberately be rude, dissmissive or ignore someone online that I trying to relate to. But written communication between strangers is always open to misinterpretation. If you feel slighted by something I write or don't write please give me a chance to clarify by message.

C. I am available for questions from 8AM to 10:30PM US Central time 7 days a week. I'm retired and a homebody. I will try to be prompt in responding to questions directed to me by name in the open or by message. During the response periods I may jump in occasionally but will follow the posts if someone asks me a question. After the tour is over I'll still available to answer questions from those who come across these posts at a future date.

D. I intend to stay at least one section ahead of the tour drafting questions and closeout responses.

E. When I post observations or pose questions in a section I will identify them by section and sequence i.e. 1A, 1B etc. When I post a section closeout I will connect a response to an identifying number by appending the opening identity with the letter A.

F. I will post each observation and question as a seperate post to facilitate helping you find and address specific observations and questions.

G. My focus will be on helping folks participating in the tour. I will not normally engage others commenting and discussing The Stranger on the thread outside the tour to avoid confusing myself or perhaps others.

2. Guidlines I ask you to please try to follow:

A. Please read my four preparatory posts before joining the tour (at the start or if joining later. 1) Tour schedule (message 19) 2) Background (message 41) 3) Process (message 42) and 4) this message. I provided these posts to keep on procedureal and administrative posts to a minimum and to give everyone a baseline at the start.

B. Folks not on the tour will be posting and commenting as usual.

C. When you come to the thread each day or after being away for a while, please scroll back up to the last post you remember and read down to the most recent post. The tour is additive, each section builds on previous sections.

D. Please don't call me out on terms and definitions. Everything here is only my opinion. Various literary criticisms and narrative theory books and references have informed my opinions but this isn't SAT prep or Lit class tutoring. You can review specific books related to literary criticism I am familiar with on my read bookshelf if interested.

E. In responding to section observations and questions:

i. Don't forget to add the why component. Thinking through why you believe in an answer as important to your understanding as the answer. Short answers are appropriate, essays are not.

ii. Although I encourage everyone to read the book before the tour, please limit response to only that portion of the text that we have covered to date. This is both part of the process and tour. The process is additive, section two responses and their why are drawn in part from section one response and their why etc. This sequence gives you confidence when you finish that backtrack your thought process as you developed your opinions. That confidence is the cement that holds your own opinions together when you hear or read other's opinions after reading the book.

iii. Please do not quote the text when responding. The exercise of accurately paraphrasing text aids understanding and is an important communication skill that is useful in all facets of life. Quoting short phrases that highlight patterns or style is appropriate. Since we are dealing with translated text, quotation may divert attention to which translation is more accurate which for tour purposes is offtrack. Respond to the translation used in your copy of the book.

iv. Please do not refer to or quote commentaries, analysis, reviews etc. Its almost impossible keep those from shading your perception of the book or diverting your attention to arguing with the authors of these other books in your mind. If your edition of the book has such analysis as a forward, appendix etc please do not share that either.

F. Don't hesitate to ask for the tour to be slowed down. Try to specify whether to slow a particular period(s). I have already decided to wait 24 hours after I provide my closeout response before going to next section to allow time for closeout questions and discussion.

Thank you for your cooperation.

SECTION ONE INTRO- In the first section we are going to do some serious overthinking of only the first four paragraphs. I want to provide as many examples as possible up front to get you oriented. In my copy paragraph 4 ends "I said, “Yes,” just so I wouldn’t have to say anything else."

As you closely read section one respond to a few of the questions that interest you. There are 11 questions for section one to choose from. I recommend against responding to every question. Going for quality over quantity will be more useful to you in the short time you have. "I don't have a clue" is a legitamate response. If you are willing to take a stab at a particular question, come up with a brief response and explanation of your response.

Ultimately personal question and response development is the goal, but in the spirit of Goodreads I encourage collaboration during the tour. Ask for question buddies on the thread. Do buddy response development by message. Designate one person to post responses but give credit in the post to all buddies. If there are difference of opinion, each person post your response.

Monica wrote: "Dave, I am interested in this challenge. Reading through The Stranger today and am in need of a buddy. Not sure what to do."

Monica, you have indicated you are interested in having a buddy. Follow the thread and send those who also want a buddy a message asking if they want to be tour buddies with you. I recommend buddies work in pairs, not groups of three or more.

Wow! What a perfectly thought through and detailed plan!
Thanks again, Dave, or should I say Master Alligator Wrestler?

~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm open for buddies!

Phil wrote: "Wow! What a perfectly thought through and detailed plan!
Thanks again, Dave, or should I say Master Alligator Wrestler?

And I've got the brain damage to prove it! :-)

Great Emily! Several have indicated interest in a buddy already. For those who haven't done so just review the thread and ask someone to dance. If dance cards are full, monitor thread over next comple of days and take your pick.

Phil wrote: "Wow! What a perfectly thought through and detailed plan!
Thanks again, Dave, or should I say Master Alligator Wrestler?

~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm open for buddies!"

Me too, would you like to be buddies?

I just finished The Stranger and found it to be a most interesting, thoughtful, thought-provoking book. Again, I feel that there are many layers from which this book can be approached and I am sure that Dave will be able to skillfully lead us through that labyrinth. I enjoyed it, found it amazing and look forward to our discussions.