Title: The Outsider (L’Etranger)
Author: Albert Camus
Outline: Meursault is an ordinary man living an ordinary life in French-occupied Algeria. There is nothing special about him or his life. However, after the death of his mother, a sudden outburst and how he responds to the resulting furore changes his way of life forever.
Highlights: Throughout the book Meursault narrates things precisely as they are, in an extremely functional and matter-of-fact manner, with short, curt sentences and statements. The theme of the book itself is indifference to the world. This makes the penultimate page of the book, where Meursault, in an outburst of righteous fury, unleashes his beliefs and his final statement upon an unfortunate visitor. He is certain of his life, his death, his existence, and that is what makes him superior. He is condemned, but we are all condemned. The difference is that Meursault knows the precise details of his condemnation. The whole book just comes together in the final few pages, in such a wonderful way that the reader is left breathless by the sudden volte-face in tone.
Why I Read It: Another Indiependent writer (I forget who, but thank you to whomever it is) recommended it when I confessed I was struggling for reading material. As well as this, my mother told me I would enjoy the book and identify with the author. I took this with a pinch of salt, as I’d had The Catcher in the Rye recommended to me ad nauseam purely on the accurate observation that I am a teenager. As it turned out, I do love the book, and I will confess to comparing myself to Camus when I’m in full “I am a master of my craft, I am an artist” mode.
Rating: 10/10. A masterpiece of literature, arguably the best and most important of Camus’ works and a cornerstone of existentialism, despite Camus’ rejection of the ideology. This is the kind of book schools should be assigning to students at GCSE or N5 level, and students would be more intelligent, or at least more aware, for it.
Words by Gabriel Rutherford