Literary fiction · Similar reads
Books like The Stranger
The best books like The Stranger are The Myth of Sisyphus, Existentialism Is a Humanism, and The Plague. The Stranger by Albert Camus is about absurdism, alienation, indifference and meaning. If that's what drew you in, here are 12 books that share its DNA — each summarized on Superbook, and ready to chat with in the app.
- The Myth of Sisyphus
01
Albert Camus · Philosophy
The Myth of Sisyphus begins with what Camus calls the only truly serious philosophical question: why not commit suicide?
A kindred literary fiction read.
Read the summary → - Existentialism Is a Humanism
02
Jean-Paul Sartre · Philosophy
Existentialism Is a Humanism began as a 1945 lecture Sartre gave to a packed Paris hall in response to critics who called existentialism pessimistic, quietist, and dangerous.
A kindred literary fiction read.
Read the summary → - The Plague
03
Albert Camus · Literary fiction
The town of Oran, on the Algerian coast, is sealed off after an outbreak of bubonic plague.
A kindred literary fiction read.
Read the summary → - The Fall
04
Albert Camus · Literary fiction
Jean-Baptiste Clamence, a former Parisian defense lawyer living in the seamiest bar district of Amsterdam, monologues at a stranger in a series of evenings.
A kindred literary fiction read.
Read the summary → - Steppenwolf
05
Hermann Hesse · Philosophy
Steppenwolf is Hermann Hesse's most psychologically intense and formally inventive novel, published in 1927 at a time of personal crisis.
Both dig into alienation.
Read the summary → - The Metamorphosis
06
Franz Kafka · Literary fiction
The Metamorphosis begins with one of the most famous sentences in world literature: Gregor Samsa wakes one morning to find he has been transformed into a giant insect.
Both dig into alienation.
Read the summary → - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
07
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Douglas Adams · Science fiction
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy begins with Earth being demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass.
Both dig into absurdism.
Read the summary → - A Farewell to Arms
08
Ernest Hemingway · Literary fiction
A Farewell to Arms is set during the First World War in northern Italy and follows Frederic Henry, an American serving as a lieutenant in the Italian ambulance corps, who falls in love with Catherine Barkley, a British nurse.
A kindred literary fiction read.
Read the summary → - A Fine Balance
09
Rohinton Mistry · Literary fiction
A Fine Balance is set in an unnamed Indian city during Indira Gandhi's Emergency of 1975–1977, a period of suspended democracy, forced sterilization, and slum clearances that is barely taught in the West and barely taught in India.
A kindred literary fiction read.
Read the summary → - A Little Life
10
Hanya Yanagihara · Literary fiction
A Little Life follows four men from college into middle age and beyond — Willem, an actor; JB, a painter; Malcolm, an architect; and Jude, a lawyer with a past that is revealed in increasingly devastating detail as the novel progresses.
A kindred literary fiction read.
Read the summary → - A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
11
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
James Joyce · Literary fiction
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man traces the intellectual and spiritual development of Stephen Dedalus from early childhood to the edge of adulthood, when he leaves Ireland to pursue life as an artist.
A kindred literary fiction read.
Read the summary → - A Thousand Acres
12
Jane Smiley · Literary fiction
A Thousand Acres retells King Lear on a thousand-acre Iowa farm in the 1970s.
A kindred literary fiction read.
Read the summary →
Books like The Stranger: quick answers
What are the best books like The Stranger?
The best books like The Stranger by Albert Camus are The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus, Existentialism Is a Humanism by Jean-Paul Sartre, The Plague by Albert Camus, The Fall by Albert Camus, Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse, plus 7 more below. Each was chosen for themes it shares with The Stranger, such as absurdism, alienation, indifference and meaning.
What should I read after The Stranger?
A natural next read after The Stranger is The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus. A kindred literary fiction read. Other strong choices are Existentialism Is a Humanism by Jean-Paul Sartre, The Plague by Albert Camus, The Fall by Albert Camus.
What books are similar to The Stranger by Albert Camus?
The Stranger centers on absurdism, alienation, indifference and meaning. Books with a similar feel include The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus, Existentialism Is a Humanism by Jean-Paul Sartre, The Plague by Albert Camus, The Fall by Albert Camus, Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka — all free to read and chat with on Superbook.
