On thought and questioning that even dabbles in the field of existentialist philosophy. Translated from the French by Joseph Laredo, this is a book that points out the idiocy on human judgements. But that is never discussed, as it is more important to note that “ every man on this Earth was under the sentence of death”. The only thing which you will probably want to know in the novel is what happens to Meursault at the end. The character of Meursault, has a lot of gravity to it in spite of his unsympathetic and indifferent attitude about other’s lives. According to Camus, Meursault was “ not a reject, but a poor and naked man, in love with a sun which leaves no shadows.” In that sense, he is an outsider to the society in which he lives, wandering on the fringe, solitary and sensual. The fact that Meursault never lies brings out another one: that he refuses to hide his feelings which causes the society to immediately feel threatened. For Meursault, this is an insult to his reason and a betrayal of his hopes, whereas for Camus, it encapsulates the absurdity of life. Soon Meursault discovers that he is being tried not simply for his crime, but for his lack of emotion – a reaction that condemns him for being an outsider. Why would this seemingly law-abiding bachelor do such a thing? And why does he show no remorse even when it could save his life? His refusal to satisfy the feelings of others only increases his guilt in the eyes of the law. It is only when he is caught up in a violent murder and charged for one, that things take a turn for the worse. He engages in a casual sexual relationship with a former acquaintance that he encountered that day. Not playing the game the way everyone expects him to, we see him returning to his simple, bachelor existence in sun-bleached Algiers the very next day. Unmoved by his mother’s death, he refuses to satisfy the feelings of others by pretending grief and therein lies the problem. Meursault is a clerk in Algiers and he will not lie. ‘In our society, any man who doesn’t cry at his mother’s funeral is liable to be condemned to death.’

‘One of those books that marks a reader’s life indelibly.’Ī long time ago, Camus summed up ‘ The Outsider’ in a sentence which is extremely paradoxical:

Albert camus book the outsider