Cover of The Stranger

The Stranger

Albert Camus, 1942

French novelist, 1913–1960.

The Stranger is a 1942 novella by Albert Camus, translated from French.

All-Time Canon
  • Critics' Darling

On 5 of the 11 lists it was eligible for.

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At a glance

Author
Albert Camus
First published
1942
Length
144 pages (UK paperback)
Original language
Translated from French
Genre
Literary fiction, Philosophical, Psychological

Is The Stranger worth reading?

5 of the 11 best-of lists it could have made include it, among them 100 books of the century (Le Monde) and 100 novels everyone should read (The Telegraph).

ListPlaceOriginal
100 books of the century (Le Monde, 1999)No. 1See the list
100 novels everyone should read (The Telegraph, 2009)No. 82See the list
Bokklubben World Library (Norwegian Book Clubs, 2002)ListedSee the list
Readers' top 100 novels (The Guardian, 2026)No. 63See the list
The 100 best novels of all time (The Guardian, 2026)No. 71See the list

Best edition of The Stranger

The edition we link to is the Vintage Books paperback (1989), 144 pages.

Publisher
Vintage Books (paperback, 1989)
Pages
144
ISBN
9780679720201

How critics and readers rate The Stranger

Critics rate it most highly: it earned 72% of the points available on critics' lists, against 15% on readers' and booksellers' lists.

Critics
72%
Prizes
Not eligible for any of these lists yet
Readers and booksellers
15%

Share of the available points it earned on each kind of list it was eligible for. How the scores work

Books like The Stranger

If you liked The Stranger, try The Plague, Catch-22 or The Trial.

Lists used on this page